By Talha Ozturk
BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Croatia, the newest member of the EU, will hold general elections Wednesday for new members of the 151-seat National Assembly.
Polling stations will open between 7 a.m. -7 p.m. local time for 3,733,283 registered voters and 222,197 voters living abroad.
Voting began Tuesday for those outside the country and will continue until 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
The State Election Commission said 2,302 candidates will compete for seats in parliament with 42% of the candidates being women.
The unofficial first election results will be announced around midnight Wednesday.
The ruling center-right party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), is the favorite to pick up the most seats, according to surveys.
President Zoran Milanovic is among the candidates of the "Rivers of Justice" alliance, despite the Constitutional Court's ruling that "his candidacy is not appropriate unless he resigns from his post as President."
Milanovic, whose candidacy in the general elections caused controversy, said he would resign if he is elected to parliament.
Many argue that "Milanovic wants to prevent Croatian voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where there will be no holiday due to the election, from voting for HDZ." by holding the elections Wednesday instead of Sunday.
If Milanovic wins a seat in parliament and resigns from the presidency, the president of the Croatian Parliament or the vice president must assume his post.
The party or coalition that will form the new government must have at least 76 MPs.
Also, 140 of the 151 deputies will be elected from constituencies within the country, three from the Croatian diaspora and eight from minority parties.
General elections are held every four years in Croatia.
HDZ won the last general elections in 2020.