ZAGREB, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Croatia's State Electoral Commission (DIP) confirmed here on Monday the official results of the presidential elections and congratulated President-elect Zoran Milanovic.
In the second round of elections on Sunday, former Prime Minister and Social Democratic candidate Milanovic won 1,034,389 votes (52.67 percent). His rival, the incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic finished second with 929,488 votes (47.33 percent).
In the first round on Dec. 22, 2019, a total of 11 candidates competed, but none of them had obtained over 50 percent of the vote, thus leading to the second round.
Out of 3.8 million eligible Croatian voters, two million or 55 percent cast their ballots, four percentage points less than in the runoff of the last presidential elections five years ago.
According to DIP, 89,415 votes, or four percent, were invalid. It is believed that most of them were protest votes from people who are unsatisfied with both candidates.
Djuro Sessa, president of the DIP, said at a press conference on Monday that the elections had been peaceful and perfectly lawful. "Once again it has proved that the Croatian society is mature and that it can conduct elections that can be an example of the functioning electoral system not only in Croatia but broader," Sessa said.
