Elections in Croatia

Croatia's parliament will hold its first session on Friday since the September general elections, before voting in a new government.

A centre-right coalition is emerging as the only likely option for a new Croatian government, as President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic readies to start the first round of consultations on Wednesday with parties and individual candidates on naming a prime minister-designate.

The lowest-ever turnout in Croatia in the elections held on September 11 should be seen "as an expression of the feeling of citizens that there is not as much power in politics as there used to be", Zagreb Political Sciences Professor Dejan Jovic said.

Milorad Pupovac, leader of the Croatian Serbs and a national minority MP in the Croatian parliament, told BIRN that he is ready to join a potential government led by the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, which won most seats in the recent elections.

Croatia's victorious centre-right Croatian Democratic Union - whose leader has made much of his move to the centre ground - has nevertheless slipped a few combative right-wingers into the new parliament.

BELGRADE - Croatia's ruling conservatives have won the country's snap parliamentary elections, but did not take enough seats to rule without coalition partners.

Nearly complete results show the conservative Croatian Democratic Union - HDZ - winning 61 seats in the 151- member parliament.

Following his party's defeat in Croatia's parliamentary elections on Sunday, the president of the leading centre-left Social Democratic Party, SDP, Zoran Milanovic, on Monday announced he will not be running in the internal party elections for the leadership that will be held within five months.

After Croatia's State Election Commission counted all the votes from the general election, the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, has emerged as the clear winner with 61 seats.

The centre-left People's Coalition came second with 54 seats followed by the centre-right MOST [Bridge], party, which won 13.

Center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) has a lead on center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP), the first results of a snap parliamentary vote show.

According to the preliminary results on Monday morning, the HDZ party will have 61 seats in Croatia's parliament after Sunday's early elections.

The People's Coalition gathered around the SDP party will have 54, while the Most ("Bridge") coalition will have 12.