Exit poll shows Croatia’s ruling conservatives win parliamentary vote, but cannot rule alone

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC
Associated Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — An exit poll says Croatia’s ruling conservatives have won a highly contested parliamentary election, but without enough seats to rule alone. The ballot Wednesday pitted the ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic against an alliance of centrist and left-wing parties informally led by populist President Zoran Milanovic and his Social Democratic Party. The independent IPSOS polling agency said that the HDZ won 59 seats in the 151-seat parliament. SDP captured 43 seats. The exit poll reflects most of the pre-election predictions.