Croatia moves presidential election to January from December

Croatia moved its next presidential elections to January from December, a government spokesman said yesterday, in a move to avoid losing the economy money by forcing people to take a day off work.

The cabinet decided earlier this month to call the vote for December 21, a Tuesday, but revised its decision after economists and employers said an extra day off would cost the country 500 million kuna ($85.24 million).

"After consultations between the prime minister, the president and the supreme court chairman, we agreed on January 2 as the best date. It is a Sunday and meets constitutional deadlines," spokesman Ratko Macek told Reuters.

He said the cabinet has yet to formally call the polls but that "everything is more or less agreed". The winner at the election would get a five-year term and may oversee the former Yugoslav republic's European Union entry if it happens in 2009.

Surveys in the local media give a comfortable edge to incumbent President Stjepan Mesic over a dozen rivals, but Jardanka Kosor, a candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), has somewhat reduced the gap in recent days.

Western diplomats say they have few fears about the outcome of the poll if either Mr Mesic or Mr Kosor win as expected. "But strictly speaking, for democracy it would probably be better if the HDZ did not have parliament, government and president," a Zagreb-based EU diplomat said. The winner must win at least 50 per cent of votes or face a run-off against the strongest contender on January 16.