CROATIA held a presidential election today, with Social Democratic incumbent Zoran Milanovic not expected to win an outright majority in the first round of voting.

Mr Milanovic faced seven other contenders, including Dragan Primorac, the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union.

According to pre-election polls, the two rivals will face off in a second round on January 12, as happpens when no contender gets more than 50 per cent of the vote.

Mr Milanovic has previoulsy served as prime minister and has been a fierce critic of Andrej Plenkovic, the post’s current holder, with continuous sparring between the two marking Croatia’s political scene of late.

“Since the election silence is still on, I just want to call on people to get out and vote. To support me,” Mr Milanovic said after he had voted today. He predicted that there would be a second round in two weeks.

Mr Plenkovic has sought to portray the vote as about Croatia’s future in the European Union and Nato. He has branded Mr Milanovic “pro-Russian” and a threat to Croatia’s international standing.

“The difference between him and Milanovic is quite simple: Milanovic is leading us East, Primorac is leading us West,” he said.

Though Croatia’s presidency is largely ceremonial, ita holder wields political authority and acts as the supreme commander of the military.

Mr Milanovic has criticised Nato and EU support for Ukraine and has often insisted that Croatia should not take sides. He argues that the country should stay out of global disputes, though it is a member of both Nato and the EU.

Mr Milanovic has also blocked Croatia’s participation in a Nato-led training mission for Ukraine, declaring that “no Croatian soldier will take part in somebody else’s war.”

Mr Primorac has claimed that “Croatia’s place is in the West, not the East.”

His presidential bid, however, has been marred by a high-level corruption case that landed the health minister in jail last month and which featured prominently in pre-election debates.