2019 European Parliament election in Croatia

26 May 2019

All 12 Croatian seats in the European Parliament
Turnout29.85% (Increase 4.61 pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Karlo Ressler Tonino Picula Ruža Tomašić
Party HDZ SDP HRASTHKSHSP AS–UHD
Alliance EPP S&D ECR-ECPM
Last election 4 seats 2 seats 0 seats
Seats won 4 4 1
Seat change Steady Increase 2 Increase 1
Popular vote 244,076 200,976 91,546
Percentage 22.73% 18.71% 8.52%

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Mislav Kolakušić Ivan Sinčić Valter Flego
Party Independent Human Shield Amsterdam Coalition
Alliance NI NI ALDE
Last election 0 seats 2 seats
Seats won 1 1 1
Seat change New Increase 1 Decrease 1
Popular vote 84,765 60,847 55,806
Percentage 7.89% 5.67% 5.20%
Swing New

  HDZ   SDP   Sovereignists   Amsterdam Coalition   Živi zid   Most   HNS–LD   NL Marijana Petir   SDSS   NS–R   BM 365   Pametno

European Parliament elections were held in Croatia on 26 May 2019, electing members of the national Croatia constituency to the European Parliament.[1][2] These were the third such elections in the country since its accession to the European Union in 2013.

It was the first election to be held nationally since the 2016 parliamentary election, following which the center-right HDZ had formed a coalition government, first with the center-right MOST and later - in June 2017, with the centrist HNS. The European Parliament elections were therefore viewed as a major test for the center-left SDP, which had contested all previous nationwide elections since 2011 as part of a coalition, but chose to stand in this election alone. The elections as such was deemed important to showcase whether the SDP could remain the largest opposition party, having been faced with months of falling opinion poll ratings. Its main contenders for such a position within the political system were the anti-establishment, eurosceptic Živi zid party, and the newly formed center-left Amsterdam Coalition.[3]

The election resulted in the two largest parties in the country, the ruling centre-right HDZ, and the opposition centre-left SDP, winning an equal number of seats - each taking 4. SDP won in all four of the largest Croatian cities: Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek.[4] The remaining four seats were evenly divided between the right-wing Croatian Sovereignists coalition, the centre-left Amsterdam Coalition, the anti-establishment Živi zid party and the independent list led by jurist Mislav Kolakušić. The strong performance of right-wing and far-right parties, such as the Croatian Sovereignists coalition and Independents for Croatia-HSP coalition, is thought to have greatly contributed to the surprisingly poor result of the HDZ, notably by significantly reducing its support among members of the Croatian diaspora, who had registered a record turnout in this election. Another surprise in the elections was the large number of votes received by Zagreb jurist Mislav Kolakušić and his independent list - which was something not predicted by opinion polls, as well as the failures of MOST to attain a seat and of independent incumbent MEP Marijana Petir to retain her seat (which she had held since 2014).

At the previous election in 2014, Croatia was allocated 11 seats and is set to receive one additional seat following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU. All seats were up for election and the whole country forms a single constituency, with the 12 members elected by proportional representation using open lists and the D'Hondt method.[5]

Current delegation

Croatian parties in the European Parliament in the ninth legislature (2019-2024)
Group12National party12
EPP Group4 Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)4
S&D4 Social Democratic Party (SDP)4
ALDE1 Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS-DDI)1
ECR1 Croatian Conservative Party (HKS)1
NI1 Mislav Kolakušić (ind.)1
EFDD1 Živi zid (ŽZ)1

Campaign

A total of 33 valid candidate slates with 396 candidates were submitted for the upcoming European Parliament election. The lists were published by the State Election Commission on 10 April, when the official election campaign began that will last for 45 days.[6]

Croatian Democratic Union

The slate of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), the ruling centre-right party of Croatia and member of the European People's Party (EPP), was led by 30-year-old Karlo Ressler, who was nominated by the youth branch of the party. The slate also includes two current MEPs, three members of the Croatian Parliament, and two county prefects. The party platform for the election was called "Croatia for Generations".[7] Croatian Prime Minister and HDZ President Andrej Plenković said that the election is a choice between a political course of Croatia's development and a backward course that would isolate Croatia.[8] The main campaign rally of the HDZ, held in Zagreb, was attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Manfred Weber, EPP's candidate for European Commission (EC) President. Both of them urged voters to reject nationalism in the upcoming election.[9]

Social Democratic Party of Croatia

The slate of the main opposition party, the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) of the Party of European Socialists (PES), was led by current MEP Tonino Picula. While presenting the party list, Picula said that Croatia had not taken full advantage of its membership in the EU. The SDP was expecting to win three seats in the upcoming election.[10] The campaign event in Rijeka, where the SDP is in power, was attended by Frans Timmermans, the candidate of the PES for president of the EC, alongside SDP President Davor Bernardić. Bernardić accused the HDZ for "failing to salvage" the Croatian shipyards in Rijeka and Pula, in cooperation with the EC.[11]

Amsterdam Coalition

The list of the Amsterdam Coalition, a coalition of seven parties, including the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), the Civic Liberal Alliance (GLAS), and the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), was headed by Istria County prefect Valter Flego of the IDS. GLAS President Anka Mrak Taritaš presented the list as a rejection of a "Europe of barbed wire fences and the Brexit chaos", and said that the coalition advocates an open and free Europe. HSS President Krešo Beljak said that the vote for the coalition is a vote for a European Croatia.[12]

Živi zid

The populist Živi zid party announced a joint platform with Italy's Five Star Movement, Kukiz'15 from Poland, and Greece's AKKEL. The 1st candidate on the slate of the Živi zid was its secretary-general Tihomir Lukanić. Ivan Vilibor Sinčić, the president of the party, presented the platform as a new generation of politicians that will fight against corruption and organised crime.[13]

Bridge of Independent Lists

The slate of the Bridge of Independent Lists (Most) was led by its president, Božo Petrov. If elected, Petrov would have given up his seat in the European Parliament to the next candidate with most preferential votes.[14] Prior to the start of the campaign, the Most party attempted to filibuster a bill that would increase the spending limits for the European election, but the bill was passed by the Croatian Parliament just before the deadline.[15] The party has not joined any of the European political groups and announced the work within the non-affiliated Non-Inscrits.[16]

Independents for Croatia–Croatian Party of Rights

Two right-wing parties, the Independents for Croatia (NHR) and the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), formed a coalition and emphasized a Europe of "free, sovereign and independent nations" as the main agenda. Their slate included both parties' presidents, Bruna Esih of the NHR and Karlo Starčević of the HSP.[17]

Croatian Sovereignists

The Croatian Sovereignists coalition was formed by four right-wing parties: the Croatian Conservative Party (HKS), the Croatian Growth (Hrast), the Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starčević (HSP AS), and the United Croatian Patriots (UHD). Its list was led by current MEP Ruža Tomašić of the HKS, who won a mandate in 2013 and in 2014 on the HDZ-led Patriotic Coalition slate.[18]

Independent Democratic Serb Party

SDSS' 2019 European Parliament election jumbo poster in Vukovar.

The Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), the largest party of the Serbs of Croatia, ran independently for the first time in the European election.[19] Although there were speculations that the SDSS might leave the ruling coalition, its leader Milorad Pupovac confirmed that the SDSS will remain a part it, following a meeting with Prime Minister Plenković.[20] Campaign was marked by SDSS jumbo posters with inscription "Do you know how it is to be a Serb in Croatia?" in which a word Serb was written in Serbian Cyrillic.[21] Second on the list, just behind party leader Milorad Pupovac, was Dejan Jović, university professor and former consultant to Ivo Josipović.[22] As it was expected by campaign leaders jumbo posters were target of widespread nationalist vandalism and destruction which underlined the issue of ethnic intolerance and discrimination.[22]

Other electoral lists

The Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS–LD), the junior partner in the governing coalition, also ran independently, with Međimurje County Prefect Matija Posavec leading the list.[23]

Current MEP Marijana Petir, who was elected in 2014 on the HDZ-led coalition slate, ran as an independent candidate, with a campaign focused on agrarian issues.[24]

Opinion polls

The following graph depicts the evolution of standings of the two main political parties and other parties in the poll since the parliamentary elections 2003.

Polling average
Main parties
  HDZ
  SDP
Other parties
  ŽZ
  A
  MOST
  BM365
  HNS
  NHR-HSP
  START
  HS
  NLMK
  NLMP
  Pametno
Events
  Elections

Vote share

Date Polling firm Sample
size
TO HDZ SDP ŽZ A Most BM 365 HNS NHR
HSP
Start HS NLMK NLMP Pametno Others Lead
25 May 2014 Election results 25.24% 41.4 29.9 0.5 28.2 11.5
23 Nov 2018 2x1 komunikacije Archived 12 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 25.5 18.5 7.8 13.1 7.8 -- 1.2 7.6 -- 1.0 -- -- -- 7.0
27 Dec 2018 2x1 komunikacije 1046 -- 28.4 22.8 12.0 10.6 6.6 -- 1.6 6.6 -- 1.0 -- -- -- 5.6
18 Jan 2019 IPSOS 1000 -- 20.1 10.6 10.8 12.5 7.5 5.1 0.2 8.9 9.4 -- -- -- -- 7.6
1 Feb 2019 2x1 komunikacije Archived 12 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 26.4 22.0 10.5 14.0 6.8 -- 1.4 8.6 -- 2.2 -- -- -- 4.4
27 Feb 2019 IPSOS 991 -- 29.6 15.7 9.4 7.2 4.9 5.0 -- -- 4.0 -- -- -- -- 16.0 13.9
28 Feb 2019 2x1 komunikacije Archived 16 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 26.3 20.0 9.9 14.1 8.7 -- 1.5 7.5 -- 1.7 -- -- -- 6.3
6 Mar 2019 Promocija plus 1300 -- 27.6 16.7 9.6 8.2 6.5 4.0 2.5 4.2 4.0 2.9 -- -- -- 10.9
21 Mar 2019 Promocija plus 1400 -- 27.0 16.4 9.3 8.4 6.4 3.6 2.3 4.3 4.1 2.8 -- -- -- 1.6 10.6
23 Mar 2019 2x1 komunikacije Archived 23 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 26.6 20.8 10.5 14.4 8.8 -- 2.6 6.2 -- 1.5 -- -- -- 5.8
26 Mar 2019 IPSOS 983 -- 29.5 18.9 9.4 5.6 6.1 4.0 -- -- 4.1 -- -- -- -- 16.6 10.6
7 Apr 2019 Promocija plus 1300 -- 26.9 16.5 8.3 8.2 6.0 -- -- 4.5 4.0 4.0 -- -- -- 10.4
21 Apr 2019 Promocija plus 1400 -- 25.1 15.7 7.7 7.6 6.2 2.4 2.4 4.1 3.2 3.9 4.6 4.6 -- 2.4 9.4
27 Apr 2019 IPSOS 841 -- 26.9 17.4 8.7 7.1 6.0 3.1 -- 2.8 3.9 2.7 2.8 2.7 -- 7.0 9.5
29 Apr 2019 Oraclum Archived 5 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine 1200 -- 36.1 20.5 9.7 6.0 7.4 2.2 1.2 2.9 3.4 2.4 3.2 - -- 2.3 15.6
30 Apr 2019 2x1 komunikacije Archived 30 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 24.0 21.0 9.8 7.9 6.8 1.0 1.0 5.0 2.0 2.7 3.2 2.5 -- 1.2 3.0
8 May 2019 Promocija plus 1300 -- 26.0 16.2 7.9 7.0 5.6 3.3 -- 3.4 -- 3.1 4.3 4.4 -- -- 9.8
20 May 2019 Promocija plus Archived 1 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine 1400 -- 24.5 16.4 7.4 6.9 6.7 2.3 3.1 3.6 2.2 4.4 4.7 4.8 2.0 4.4 8.1
23 May 2019 2x1 komunikacije Archived 25 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine 1041 -- 24.0 21.2 11.0 5.9 7.0 2.6 1.7 5.3 3.1 4.8 4.8 4.0 -- 2.8
24 May 2019 Oraclum Archived 24 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 34.6 21.1 11.1 5.7 7.3 2.8 1.2 2.4 3.1 2.2 3.3 -- 1.2 13.5
24 May 2019 IPSOS 985 -- 28.2 20.1 7.4 6.2 6.1 3.0 -- 4.6 3.0 4.2 5.1 -- -- 8.1

Seat projections

Date Polling firm Sample
size
Abs. HDZ SDP ŽZ A Most BM 365 HNS NHR
HSP
Start HS NLMK NLMP Others Lead
23 Nov 2018 2x1 komunikacije Archived 12 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 4 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
27 Dec 2018 2x1 komunikacije -- -- 4 3 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
18 Jan 2019 IPSOS -- -- 3 2 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
1 Feb 2019 2x1 komunikacije Archived 12 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 4 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
27 Feb 2019 IPSOS -- -- 6 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
28 Feb 2019 2x1 komunikacije Archived 16 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 4 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
6 Mar 2019 Promocija plus -- -- 5 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
21 Mar 2019 Promocija plus -- -- 5 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
23 Mar 2019 2x1 komunikacije -- -- 4 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
26 Mar 2019 IPSOS -- -- 6 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
7 Apr 2019 Promocija plus -- -- 5 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
21 Apr 2019 Promocija plus -- -- 5 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
27 Apr 2019 IPSOS -- -- 5 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
29 Apr 2019 Oraclum Archived 5 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 6 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
30 Apr 2019 2x1 komunikacije Archived 30 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 4 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
8 May 2019 Promocija plus -- -- 5 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
20 May 2019 Promocija plus Archived 1 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 5 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
23 May 2019 2X1 komunikacije -- -- 4 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 May 2019 IPSOS -- -- 5 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
24 May 2019 Oraclum Archived 24 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine -- -- 6 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

Exit polls

Date Polling firm HDZ SDP NL Mislav Kolakušić Croatian Sovereignists Živi zid Amsterdam Coalition
26 May 2019 Ipsos puls 5 3 1 1 1 1

Results

Results by municipality, shaded according to winning party's percentage of the vote.

The ruling HDZ won 22.72% of the vote and 4 seats in the European Parliament. The SDP, the main opposition party, also won 4 seats in the parliament, with 18.71% of the popular vote. The SDP will gain the fourth seat after the United Kingdom leaves the EU. The Croatian Sovereignists coalition, the independent list of Mislav Kolakušić, the Živi Zid party, and the Amsterdam Coalition won one seat each.[25] The voter turnout was 29.9%, up from 25.2% in the 2014 election.[18]

Prime Minister Plenković admitted that he expected more votes. The elected MEP's of the HDZ list are Karlo Ressler, Dubravka Šuica, Tomislav Sokol and Željana Zovko. SDP President Davor Bernardić was satisfied with the results, which exceeded his expectations. The elected MEP's of the SDP are Biljana Borzan, Tonino Picula, Predrag Fred Matić and Romana Jerković. Jerković will take her seat after Brexit. Ruža Tomašić of the Croatian Sovereignists won the highest number of preferential votes and retained her seat in the parliament. The biggest surprise of the election was Kolakušić's independent list, which won 7.89% of the vote. Kolakušić announced a presidential campaign the day after the election.[25]

Ivan Vilibor Sinčić, the president of the Živi zid party, won most preferential votes on his party list and a place in the parliament ahead of the slate leader, Tihomir Lukanić. The Amsterdam Coalition's main candidate, Valter Flego, won a seat in the parliament.[25]

PartyVotes%Seats
Croatian Democratic Union244,07622.734
Social Democratic Party200,97618.714
HRASTHKSHSP AS–UHD91,5468.521
Independent Candidate – Mislav Kolakušić84,7657.891
Human Shield60,8475.671
HSSGLASIDSHSUPGSDEMOKRATILABURISTI55,8295.201
Bridge of Independent Lists50,2574.680
Independent Candidate – Marijana Petir47,3584.410
NHRHSP46,9704.370
Independent Democratic Serb Party28,5972.660
Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats27,9582.600
Party of Anti-corruption, Development and Transparency21,7442.020
Bandić Milan 365 – Labour and Solidarity Party21,1751.970
We can!NLORaH19,3131.800
Pametno–UK15,0741.400
People's Party – Reformists9,9710.930
Green List5,9720.560
Croatian Social Liberal Party5,8760.550
Croatian Democratic Party5,6100.520
Authentic Croatian Party of Rights4,3910.410
Let's Unblock Croatia3,9810.370
Party of People's and Civic Action3,6830.340
Croatian Demochristian Party3,6510.340
RFSRP2,6220.240
Movement for a Modern Croatia2,5810.240
Democratic Alliance of Serbs2,0360.190
Croatian Defence People's Party1,5880.150
My Beloved Croatia1,1680.110
Zagorje Party for Zagreb1,1280.110
Free Croatia1,0210.100
Croatian Community Party9440.090
Croatian Party of Order7330.070
Freedom Party of Croatia5130.050
Total1,073,954100.0012
Valid votes1,073,95497.32
Invalid/blank votes29,5972.68
Total votes1,103,551100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,696,90729.85
Source: State Election Committee

Elected lists and candidates

Members of the
European Parliament

for Croatia
Observers (2012)
7th term (2013)
8th term (2014)
9th term (2019)
Women
6: HRAST - HKS - HSP AS - UHD 9: HDZ 12: HSS - GLAS - IDS - HSU -PGS - D - HL-SR 15: NLMK 28: SDP 33: ŽZ
* Ruža Tomašić
(HKS)
* Karlo Ressler
(HDZ)
* Dubravka Šuica
(HDZ)
* Tomislav Sokol
(HDZ)
* Željana Zovko
(HDZ)
* Valter Flego
(IDS)
* Mislav Kolakušić
(Independent)
* Biljana Borzan
(SDP)
* Tonino Picula
(SDP)
* Predrag Fred Matić
(SDP)
* Romana Jerković
(SDP)
* Ivan Vilibor Sinčić
(ŽZ)

List of elected MEPs

MEP Party Number of preference votes Share of preference votes on candidate's list Term length
Ruža Tomašić HKS 69,989 76.45% 1 July 2013 
Mislav Kolakušić Ind. 68,883 81.26% 2 July 2019 
Biljana Borzan SDP 64,736 32.21% 1 July 2013 
Karlo Ressler HDZ 52,859 21.65% 2 July 2019 
Tonino Picula SDP 50,921 25.33% 1 July 2013 
Dubravka Šuica HDZ 31,791 13.02% 1 July 2013 
Valter Flego IDS 21,228 38.03% 2 July 2019 
Ivan Vilibor Sinčić ŽZ 18,314 30.09% 2 July 2019 
Predrag Matić SDP 13,371 6.65% 2 July 2019 
Željana Zovko HDZ 9,861 4.04% 21 November 2016 
Tomislav Sokol HDZ 4,573 1.87% 2 July 2019 
Romana Jerković SDP 1,368 0.68% 2 July 2019 

See also

References

  1. "European Parliament Election in Croatia Called for 26 May". total-croatia-news.com. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  2. "Odluka o raspisivanju izbora za članove u Europski parlament iz Republike Hrvatske" (PDF). izbori.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  3. "Europski izbori odredit će lidera oporbe". novilist.hr. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  4. "U najvećim gradovima ljevica je pomela HDZ na EU izborima".
  5. "Zakon o izborima zastupnika Republike Hrvatske u Europski parlament". Croatian Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  6. "Campaign begins for European Parliament elections". Croatian Radio Television. 10 April 2019. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  7. "Young party official leads slate of HDZ candidates for EP elections". N1. 6 April 2019. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  8. "Plenković Praises HDZ Candidates for European Parliament Elections". Total Croatia News. 14 April 2019.
  9. "Merkel and Weber tell HDZ rally nationalism is Europe's enemy". N1. 19 May 2019. Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  10. "EU Is Space of Opportunities for Croatia". Total Croatia News. 8 April 2019.
  11. "Timmermans Supports SDP Candidates in European Elections". Total Croatia News. 19 May 2019.
  12. "Amsterdam Coalition Submits Candidates List for European Elections". Total Croatia News. 5 April 2019.
  13. "Živi Zid Presents Its Slate for European Elections". Total Croatia News. 1 April 2019.
  14. "MOST Hopeful of Winning Two Seats in European Parliament". Total Croatia News. 27 March 2019.
  15. "Sabor passes campaign financing law". Croatian Radio Television. 23 March 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  16. "MOST Leader Says Eurobureaucrats Attempting to Create Super-State". Total Croatia News. 5 May 2019.
  17. "Right-Wing Parties to Run Together for European Parliament". Total Croatia News. 2 April 2019.
  18. 1 2 "EP election: Two major parties in Croatia take four seats each". N1. 26 May 2019. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  19. "Živi Zid, SDSS Submit Candidates for European Parliament Elections". Total Croatia News. 9 April 2019.
  20. "SDSS to stay on with the HDZ-led coalition government". Croatian Radio Television. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  21. Vale, Giovanni (24 June 2019). "Dejan Jović, an alarm call for Croatian society". Trento, Italy: Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  22. 1 2 Miladinović, Aleksandar (24 May 2019). "Интервју петком - Дејан Јовић: "Поставили смо огледало пред лице и савест људи"". BBC. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  23. "People's Party and Greens submit European election lists; HDSSB won't run". Croatian Radio Television. 7 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  24. "Marijana Petir Launches Campaign for Another Term in European Parliament". Total Croatia News. 25 April 2019.
  25. 1 2 3 "Results in from EU Parliament elections". Croatian Radio Television. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
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