Croatia Presidential Race Enters Last Lap

With the second round of the presidential elections scheduled for Sunday, the race between incumbent, Ivo Josipovic, and the centre-right challenger, Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, has entered its last days.

Both candidates made the final pitch for swing voters as polls predict the gap closing between them.

Josipovic won the first round with 38.46 per cent, closely followed by Grabar Kitarovic, the candidate of the centre-right Croatian Democrartic Union, HDZ, with 37.22 per cent.

Following the traditional door-to-door approach, Grabar Kitarovic visited the Dalmatian towns of Imotski, Split and Zadar on Monday, a region traditionally oriented towards the HDZ.

On her way to Zadar, Grabar Kitarovic visited retired general and war hero Ante Gotovina, who was acquitted of war crimes before Hague war crimes tribunal in 2012 for his role in the recapture of the Serb-occupied Krajina region in 1995.

After visiting Pula on the Istrian peninsula, Grabar Kitarovic visited her hometown of Rijeka on Tuesday. However, Josipovic won most votes there in the first round, due to the city's traditional leftist orientation.

Grabar Kitarovic finished her tour with a closing rally in a concert hall in Zagreb, where HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko and the president of the HDZ's sister party in Bosnia, HDZ BiH, Dragan Covic, held speeches as well.

Josipovic meanwhile visited Osijek in eastern Croatia on Monday, once again talking up his political programme of constitutional changes, which he says will introduce a higher level of regionalization.

In a gesture to the country's Serbian community, Josipovic also joined in the celebration of Orthodox Christmas on Tuesday, organized by the Serbian National Council, SNV, which represents the Serbian...