Croatia set to vote in tight general elections

Croatians are to cast ballots in general elections on Sunday pitting the ruling conservatives against opposition leftists in a neck-and-neck race to lead the Balkan country into the European Union.

Opinion polls show the fifth elections in the former Yugoslav republic since independence in 1991 will be a closely fought affair between the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Voters have endured a dull campaign where the policies of the two rivals differed only marginally -- on the running of the economy -- with EU and NATO membership topping both their agendas.

Croatia opened membership talks with the EU in 2005 and is hoping to join the 27-nation bloc by the end of the decade. Zagreb expects an invitation to join NATO at its summit in Bucharest in April 2008.

A key point of contention on the campaign trail was the right to vote of the Croatian diaspora, especially those residing in neighbouring Bosnia.

Around 400,000 of Croatia's 4.4 mln electorate live abroad, most of them HDZ loyalists in Bosnia, and their votes could prove decisive if the result in Croatia is a close call.

Campaigning against the rule, the SDP's billboards declared 'Let's decide in Croatia,' while the party's leader Zoran Milanovic insisted only those who live under Croatian laws should be entitled to vote.

'Always let your voice be heard' was the counter from the HDZ of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, on billboards that sprung up throughout Croat-populated parts of Bosnia.

Most opinion polls have given the edge to the Social Democrats, a party that emerged from the country's former Communist Party.

But, according to the latest one published in the weekly Globus on Wednesday, the HDZ is backed by 34.4 pct of the electorate compared with the SDP's 30.1 pct.

Such an outcome would give 58 parliamentary seats to the HDZ, five more than the SDP, which is said to have an 'Achilles' heel' over its lack of clear leadership.

The assembly currently has 152 seats but it can be expanded to up to 160. Eight places are reserved for minorities and up to 12 for Croatians living abroad, depending on the number of ballots they cast.

Following the death of the SDP's long-time leader Ivica Racan in April, Milanovic, who is considered young and ambitious, took over at the helm of the party.

However, the Social Democrats put forward Ljubo Jurcic, an economics professor, as its candidate for the post of prime minister.

Jurcic is perceived as lacking the experience and charisma of the energetic Sanader.

The HDZ, founded by Croatia's late nationalist leader Franjo Tudjman, returned to power in November 2003 polls after four years in opposition.

Sanader has since managed to shake off the party's hardline and nationalist legacy and transform it into a pro-European one.

The 54-year-old is also credited with improving cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal.

The 2005 arrest in Spain of top fugitive Ante Gotovina, a former general seen as national hero by many in Croatia, removed a major obstacle on the path towards the EU.

The return and rights of ethnic Serbs, who fled Croatia during and after the 1991-95 independence war, judicial reforms and the fight against corruption, are key issues for the country's EU membership.

Some 280,000 Serbs took flight during and after Croatia's 1991-95 war in which Zagreb fought rebel Serbs who opposed independence. So far around 130,000 have returned.

Polling stations are to open at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) on Sunday and close at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT). Local television stations are planning to broadcast exit poll results soon afterwards.