The president is elected on the basis of universal
suffrage, through a
secret ballot, for a five-year term. If no candidate in
the elections secures more than 50% of the votes, a
runoff election is held in 14 days. The
Constitution of Croatia sets a limit to a maximum of two terms in office and requires election dates to be determined within 30 to 60 days before the expiry of the term of the incumbent president. The constitution requires that the
president-elect resign from political party membership. Before assuming presidential duty, the president-elect is required to take an
oath of office before the judges of the
Constitutional Court, swearing loyalty to the Constitution of Croatia. The inauguration ceremony is traditionally held at
St. Mark's Square in
Zagreb, in front of the
St. Mark's Church, midway between the building of the Parliament of Croatia and
Banski dvori—the seat of the Government of Croatia. The text of the oath is defined by the Presidential Elections Act amendments of 1997. The text in its Croatian form is not sensitive to gender and all nouns (e.g.
Predsjednik (President),
državni poglavar (head of state)) always retain their masculine form, even when the president being sworn in is a woman (as was the case with
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in 2015). There is however a notation within the
Constitution of Croatia which states that all nouns used within the text of the document apply equally to both genders. The text of the presidential oath of office is as follows:
Presidential elections Presidential elections were held in
Croatia for
the first time on 2 August 1992, simultaneously with
the 1992 parliamentary elections. Voter turnout was 74.9%. The result was a victory for
Franjo Tuđman of the
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), who received 57.8% of the vote in the first round of the elections, ahead of 7 other candidates.
Dražen Budiša, the
Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) candidate and runner-up in the election, received 22.3% of the vote.
The second presidential elections in modern Croatia were held on 15 June 1997. The incumbent, Franjo Tuđman ran opposed by
Zdravko Tomac, the candidate of the
Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP), and
Vlado Gotovac, nominated by the HSLS. Tomac and Gotovac received 21.0% and 17.6% of votes respectively in the first round of voting, and Tuđman secured another term.
The third presidential elections were held on 24 January 2000, to fill the office of the President of the Republic, after the incumbent Franjo Tuđman died on 10 December 1999. The first round of voting saw
Stjepan Mesić, candidate of the
Croatian People's Party (HNS) in the lead, receiving 41.3% of votes, followed by Dražen Budiša of the HSLS with 27.8% of votes and
Mate Granić, nominated by the HDZ, receiving 22.6% of votes. The runoff election, the first in the presidential elections of modern Croatia, was held on 7 February, when Mesić won, picking up 56.9% of votes. Voter turnout in the first round was 63.0% and 60.9% in the runoff. The first round of the
fourth presidential elections was held on 2 January 2005. No candidate secured a first-round victory; however, the incumbent Mesić enjoyed a substantial lead over other candidates, as he received 48.9% of votes, and the second and third ranked candidates
Jadranka Kosor (HDZ) and
Boris Mikšić (
independent) managed only 20.3% and 17.8% of voter support respectively. Ultimately, Mesić won reelection, receiving 65.9% of votes in the runoff held on 16 January. The
2009–2010 presidential election was held on 27 December 2009, with
Ivo Josipović (SDP) picking up 32.4% of votes, followed by
Milan Bandić (independent),
Andrija Hebrang (HDZ) and
Nadan Vidošević (independent) receiving 14.8%, 12.0% and 11.3% of the votes respectively. The second round of voting was held on 10 January 2010, when Josipović defeated Bandić, receiving 60.3% of the vote. The runoff was held on 11 January 2015, and Grabar-Kitarović won by a margin of approximately one percentage point.
History and a statue of
King Tomislav The
Socialist Republic of Croatia within
SFR Yugoslavia was led by a group of communist party officials, who formed a collective Presidency with the president of the Presidency at its head. The
first democratic elections of 1990 did not elect members of the Presidency directly. Rather, the parliament was tasked with filling these positions as it had done in the socialist period. The HDZ won the elections and its leader Tuđman assumed the presidency on 30 May 1990. On 25 July of the same year, the parliament passed several constitutional amendments, including amendment LXXI, which created the position of President and Vice-Presidents. The Christmas Constitution, passed on 22 December 1990, established the government as a
semi-presidential system and called for presidential elections. Tuđman won the presidential elections in 1992, and was inaugurated on 12 August 1992. He was reelected in 1997, and the Constitution of Croatia was amended the same year. Mesić won two consecutive terms in 2000 on the HNS ticket and in 2005, the maximum term permitted by the constitution. Josipović, an SDP candidate, won the presidential elections held in 2009–2010. Grabar-Kitarović won the elections of 2014–15 and she was voted to become the first woman president of Croatia. ==Immunity and impeachment==