2019 European Parliament election in Croatia

2019 European Parliament election in Croatia

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All 12 Croatian seats in the European Parliament
Turnout	29.85% ( 4.61 pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Karlo Ressler Tonino Picula Ruža Tomašić Party HDZ SDP HRAST–HKS–HSP AS–UHD Alliance EPP S&D ECR-ECPM Last election 4 seats 2 seats 0 seats Seats won 4 4 1 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 244,076 200,976 91,546 Percentage 22.73% 18.71% 8.52%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Mislav Kolakušić Ivan Sinčić Valter Flego Party Independent Human Shield Amsterdam Coalition Alliance NI NI ALDE Last election – 0 seats 2 seats Seats won 1 1 1 Seat change New 1 1 Popular vote 84,765 60,847 55,806 Percentage 7.89% 5.67% 5.20% Swing New
HDZ   SDP   Sovereignists   Amsterdam Coalition   Živi zid   Most   HNS–LD   NL Marijana Petir   SDSS   NS–R   BM 365   Pametno

European Parliament elections were held in Croatia on 26 May 2019, electing members of the national Croatia constituency to the European Parliament.^[1][2] These were the third such elections in the country since its accession to the European Union in 2013.

It was the first election to be held nationally since the 2016 parliamentary election, following which the center-right HDZ had formed a coalition government, first with the center-right MOST and later - in June 2017, with the centrist HNS. The European Parliament elections were therefore viewed as a major test for the center-left SDP, which had contested all previous nationwide elections since 2011 as part of a coalition, but chose to stand in this election alone. The elections as such was deemed important to showcase whether the SDP could remain the largest opposition party, having been faced with months of falling opinion poll ratings. Its main contenders for such a position within the political system were the anti-establishment, eurosceptic Živi zid party, and the newly formed center-left Amsterdam Coalition.^[3]

The election resulted in the two largest parties in the country, the ruling centre-right HDZ, and the opposition centre-left SDP, winning an equal number of seats - each taking 4. SDP won in all four of the largest Croatian cities: Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek.^[4] The remaining four seats were evenly divided between the right-wing Croatian Sovereignists coalition, the centre-left Amsterdam Coalition, the anti-establishment Živi zid party and the independent list led by jurist Mislav Kolakušić. The strong performance of right-wing and far-right parties, such as the Croatian Sovereignists coalition and Independents for Croatia-HSP coalition, is thought to have greatly contributed to the surprisingly poor result of the HDZ, notably by significantly reducing its support among members of the Croatian diaspora, who had registered a record turnout in this election. Another surprise in the elections was the large number of votes received by Zagreb jurist Mislav Kolakušić and his independent list - which was something not predicted by opinion polls, as well as the failures of MOST to attain a seat and of independent incumbent MEP Marijana Petir to retain her seat (which she had held since 2014).

At the previous election in 2014, Croatia was allocated 11 seats and is set to receive one additional seat following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU. All seats were up for election and the whole country forms a single constituency, with the 12 members elected by proportional representation using open lists and the D'Hondt method.^[5]