Top Croatian court: President cannot run in election while in office

BELGRADE, Serbia

The Croatian Constitutional Court ruled on Monday that President Zoran Milanovic cannot be a candidate in the upcoming general election while in office.

The decision came after Milanovic declared his intention to run in the election scheduled for April 17.

Constitutional Court head Miroslav Separovic told the media that Milanovic is prohibited from engaging in political activities of any party while serving as president.

"Article 96 of the Constitution states that the president cannot hold any other public office or professional duty after being elected and he will leave the party. The president is not affiliated with any party and cannot participate in the political activities of any political party while performing this duty. The president cannot be a candidate in the general election," he said.

Sperovic said that the president must resign from his post in order to be a candidate in the elections. In this case, the interim presidency is assumed by the speaker of the Croatian Parliament.

The Croatian Parliament was dissolved last Thursday with unanimous approval from the attending 143 deputies.

In his written statement on Friday, Milanovic said that the general election in the country would be held on Wednesday, April 17.

The same day, Milanovic announced on social media that he decided to run for office in the general election.

"After this victory, I will leave my post as president and assume the responsibility of leading the Croatian government with the support of the new majority in the Croatian Parliament," said Milanovic.

The conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won the last general election held in 2020 in Croatia.

General elections in Croatia are held every four years.