Polls opened Sunday morning at 0600 UTC, with about 3.8 million Croatians eligible to vote in an election which is expected to result in a runoff.

Surveys conducted in the lead-up to the vote revealed that of the four candidates for president, incumbent Ivo Josipovic (pictured above), a 57-year-old candidate for Croatia's center-left Social Democrats (SDP), was expected to win the most votes, but still fall short of the 50 percent needed to win outright.

It was expected that he would face a runoff vote against opposition candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic of the conservative HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) party. Grabar-Kitarovic, 46, has previously served as foreign minister, European affairs minister and NATO's assistant secretary general for public diplomacy.

The other candidates vying for the presidency, whose chances according to pre-election polls are very slim, are Milan Kujundzic and Ivan Vilibor Sincic.

Economic woes

A key issue in the election campaign has been the economic situation in Croatia, which joined the European Union in 2013 and has one of the bloc's weakest economies. Unemployment is close to 20 percent.

Though the office of president is largely ceremonial, the election is viewed as a test for the governing coalition, which is led by the SDP and is accused of failing to tackle the economic woes. During the campaign, this was picked up on by Grabar-Kitarovic, who criticized Josipovic for his handling of the situation.

"He shares the blame with the government for a bad (economic) situation in the country since he remained silent and did nothing," she said.

However Josipovic, a law professor, music composer and pianist who famously played "Ode to Joy" to celebrate Croatia's entry into the EU and is known for his calm manner, continued to consistently top opinion polls. During the campaign he appealed to voters to maintain their trust in him.

"Without reforming the state, the administration and the judiciary there will be no economic recovery," he said.

The fact that the presidential vote is being held between Christmas and New Year celebrations in the mainly Catholic country has added uncertainty, as it was unknown what effect the timing would have on voter turnout. Early partial results are expected late Sunday. Should, as expected, a runoff be held, it is due to take place on January 11.

se/tj (AFP, dpa, AP)