Croatians voted on Sunday in presidential elections likely to give incumbent Stjepan Mesic, credited with putting the former Yugoslav republic on the road towards the European Union, a second term. Mesic clearly won the first round of voting two weeks ago but failed to gain an outright majority, forcing a runoff against the candidate of the ruling centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor.
The winner of the election looks set to oversee the country's EU entry, planned for 2009.
Both contenders back EU membership, but whereas the ruling conservatives have only recently adopted pro-Western policies after a prolonged flirt with hard-line nationalism, Mesic is seen at home and abroad as a guarantor of Croatia's EU drive.
"Mesic is my choice. He is laid back, not aloof, but is also a statesman and will help us move towards the European Union," said Bojan Srdic, a 40-year-old teacher.
Kosor, a close ally of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, has called on Croats to elect her as their first woman president. But she has also tried to woo the nationalist camp by vowing to be a tough defender of national interests.