Croatia's Milanovic re-elected in landslide, exit poll shows

Zagreb: Croatia s populist President Zoran Milanovic was re elected in a landslide, defeating his conservative rival in Sunday s run off, according to...

Zagreb: Croatia's populist President Zoran Milanovic was re-elected in a landslide, defeating his conservative rival in Sunday's run-off, according to an exit poll.

Milanovic took 77.86 percent of the vote and Dragan Primorac, backed by the centre-right HDZ party that governs Croatia, 22.14 percent, according to the exit poll shown on state-run HRT television.

While the role of the president is largely ceremonial in Croatia, if Milanovic's wide victory is confirmed, it would be the latest setback for the HDZ and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic -- Milanovic's political arch-rival -- after a high-profile corruption affair in November.

The outspoken Milanovic, backed by the left-wing opposition, won more than 49 percent of the vote in the contest's first round two weeks ago -- narrowly missing an outright victory. Official results in the second round are due later Sunday.

The vote was held as the European Union member nation of 3.8 million people struggles with the highest inflation rate in the eurozone, endemic corruption and a labour shortage.