Social Democrat Ivo Josipovic, who pledged to lead Croatia into the EU and crack down on corruption, was elected president with over 60 percent of the vote, official results showed yesterday.
After the results were announced, Josipovic told a crowd his supporters that he would work for a “just country” that honors European values.
“I want a European Croatia, a Croatia that will be one of the shining stars in the European sky, not only by EU membership but by values that we stand for — democracy, freedom, human rights, rule of law, minority rights [and] religious freedom,” Josipovic said.
He took 60.29 percent of the vote in Sunday’s run-off presidential election, while his rival, populist Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic, garnered 39.71 percent, the official results from 99.62 percent of all polling stations showed.
Josipovic, a law professor and a classical music composer who has enjoyed an untarnished political career, reiterated his promise to lead an uncompromising fight against corruption
“Every citizen of this country tonight is a winner since I deeply believe that we all want a better, a more just Croatia ... We all want to live in a country where work gets paid and crime is punished, the country of social security and justice,” Josipovic said.
The fight against corruption is a key challenge if Croatia — which joined NATO last year — wants to succeed in its bid to join the European bloc and put the trauma of the war further behind it.
In recent months, several investigations were launched into alleged graft at state-run firms. More than a dozen officials have already been detained.
Josipovic’s election is “certainly an important step towards a boosting of ties between Zagreb and Brussels,” said Radovan Vukadinovic, an international relations expert. “He will try to make Croatia a country that can serve as an example to others in the region that are aspiring to join the EU.”
“The process of EU integration of the region thus gets an important new dimension and provides a possibility to develop even better ties with Europe,” he said.
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