VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVB #0276 1381320
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181320Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9227

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000276 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/SCE AND EUR/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV HR
SUBJECT: LOCAL ELECTIONS HIGHLIGHT STRENGTHS OF BIG PARTIES 
 
REF: A. 09ZAGREB268 
     ¶B. 09ZAGREB229 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  High turnout marked Sundays, local 
elections and the results contrasted the differing strengths 
between the two largest parties.  The ruling Croatian 
Democratic Union (HDZ) along with coalition partners won the 
largest number of county prefects and should hold sway in 
nearly fifteen of twenty county assemblies.  The main 
opposition party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), did well 
in mayoral races in many of Croatia,s largest cities. 
Leaders of both the HDZ and SDP said the results were in line 
with their expectations and that they were pleased with the 
results.  Election observers noted no serious irregularities 
and there have been no accusations of fraud by any of the 
major parties in Croatia.  Several city and county races did 
not have clear winner -- a candidate receiving more than 50 
percent of the vote -- meaning those ballots will go to a 
second round run-off election on Sunday, May 31 between the 
top two candidates.  END SUMMARY 
 
NO REAL SURPISES 
¶2. (U)  As expected, the HDZ with its main coalition partner 
the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) won, or is likely to win in 
the runoff, as many as fourteen out of twenty county prefect 
positions.  The HDZ-HSS ticket cleanly won the county prefect 
race in Bjelovar, Koprivnica, Lika, Virovitica, Vukovar, 
Zagreb County, and Zadar, and is well positioned to win the 
prefect in the second round run-off in Brod-Posavina, 
Dubrovnik, Karlovac, Sibenik, and Split.  The HDZ-HSS mayoral 
candidates in Croatia's four largest cities (Zagreb, Split, 
Rijeka, and Osijek) gained few votes, however, with none even 
making it into a second round.  Senior HDZ members downplayed 
the defeats in the big cities and noted that HDZ was strong 
at the county level and in smaller cities, winnning around 50 
percent of all mayors and city council seats. 
¶3. (U)  The SDP won a landslide in Croatia,s third largest 
town, Rijeka, and is likely to hold on to the mayor,s job in 
the capital city of Zagreb, which will be decided in a runoff 
between the incumbent SDP mayor, Milan Bandic, and an 
independent candidate.  SDP leader Zoran Milanovic 
characterized the election results as excellent and stressed 
the SDP,s strong showing in all the major city council 
races.  The SDP is going to push hard to win the run-off 
election in Split, Croatia,s second largest city and Prime 
Minister Ivo Sanader's hometown, where SDP heavyweight Ranko 
Ostojic will face off with independent business magnate 
Zeljko Kerum. 
NO SERIOUS ELECTORAL IRREGULARITIES 
¶4. (U) Election monitors trained by Croatia,s main 
democracy-oriented NGO, GONG, noted only a few minor 
deviations from Croatia,s voting laws.  The NGO indicated 
that many of the major parties violated the 24 pre-election 
silence period by continuing to hand out flyers and send 
text-messages to supporters.  Similarly, there were no 
significant cases of ethnic discrimination.  Several bus 
loads of ethnic Serbs travelled from Serbia and elsewhere in 
the region to Croatia to vote in municipalities where they 
have registered property and voting rights, largely without 
incident.  One bus which carried Serbs from Bosnia to Knin to 
vote was stoned in a parking lot and sustained about $1500 
worth of damage; the bus was empty at the time of the 
incident and no one was injured. 
¶5. (SBU) COMMENT:  The election results contained no real 
surprises.  Despite economic headwinds, the main parties of 
the ruling coalition, the HDZ and HSS, avoided any serious 
electoral setback and actually made some modest gains at the 
county-level.  The SDP, while it could not translate the poor 
economy into electoral gold, still has defended its major 
holdings and this satisfactory result will help quell 
discontent in the SDP ranks with Milanovic,s leadership. 
Both the HDZ and SDP are well positioned to claim momentum 
going forward and both parties will soon be turning their 
attention to the presidential race set to play-out in the 
second half of the year. END COMMENT 
BRADTKE