Croatian ruling party wins 66 seats in general elections

The ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won 66 seats including five seats for expatriates in the 153-member parliament, remaining to be the largest party in Croatia, the State Election Commission said on Wednesday.

According to provisional election results from all 12 electoral units, the main opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) was second with 56 seats.

The coalition of the Croatian Peasant Party and the Social Liberal Party won eight seats, the People's Party seven, the regional Istrian Democratic Party and HDSSB party three each, while the Party of Rights and the Pensioners' Party each won one seat.

The new parliament will also include eight representatives of ethnic minorities.

About 4 million voters are eligible to vote in Croatia's parliamentary elections on Nov. 25, the sixth multi-party elections since 1990. The turnout of the elections was around 64 percent.

Final results will be announced after repeated voting at three polling stations on Dec. 9 and the expiry of a 48-hour deadline for complaints, but those results will not affect the present distribution of seats.

After the expiry of the deadline for complaints, the Constitution provides for a 20-day period for the formation of a new parliament, which is the prerequisite for the formation of a new government.

Parliamentary elections were conducted in 10 electoral units in Croatia and in two special ones, one for the Croatian Diaspora and Croatian nationals residing abroad, and the other for Croatia's national minorities.

The Croatian constitution stipulates that the unicameral parliament can have no less than 100 and no more than 160 deputies, depending on the voter turnout. Parliament members will be elected on the basis of direct, universal and equal suffrage for a four-year term.