Croatia Votes Again in Parliamentary Elections

Polling stations opened at 7am for just under 3.8 million voters who have an opportunity to cast votes for parliament for the second time in Croatia in ten months.

Voters in Croatia and abroad - diaspora and Bosnian Croats - can choose from among 177 lists of parties, coalitions and individual candidates for 12 constituencies.

Besides 140 seats in ten constituencies in Croatia, eight seats are guaranteed to national minorities and three to Bosnian Croats and the diaspora, making 151 in total.

After the last centre-right government fell in June, after only five months in power, voters are choosing among options similar to those on offer in the last elections in November 2015.

The last government was led by the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, in coalition with a newcomer to national politics, the centre-right Bridge of the Independent lists, MOST, and a number of smaller parties. The Prime Minister was Tihomir Oreskovic, a non-party candidate with experience in financial management in the pharmaceutical industry.

After a six-year recession, economic results started to improve in 2015, during the last year of the previous centre-left coalition government, led by the Social Democratic Party, SDP, under Zoran Milanovic.

The last government, meanwhile, encountered problems in naming officials, disagreed on which reforms to implement and failed to draft and pass many laws in parliament.

Additionally, it was widely criticized for its relation to Croatia's recent history - personified in the controversial culture minister, Zlatko Hasanbegovic. It was also criticised in relation to media freedoms.

In contrast to last year's broad centre-right coalition, the HDZ is running alone in these elections, with only a few candidates...