Croatia’s President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic speaks as she holds a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem July 29, 2019. Menahem Kahana/Pool via REUTERS
August 6, 2019
SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Croatia President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarevic will run for a second five-year term on behalf of her ruling party, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who also heads the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), said on Tuesday.
Plenkovic confirmed Kitarevic’s candidacy for the job after she informally announced it to local media on Monday, state news agency Hina reported.
Kitarevic’s current term will expire on Feb. 19, 2020 and the government is expected to call for the election at least 30 day before.
Her biggest rivals for the job are Zoran Milanovic, the former prime minister from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Miroslav Skoro, a popular singer who will run as an independent candidate, according to polls published in Croatia.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Ed Osmond)
