Croatian Presidential Vote Set for Jan. 24

Croats will choose a new president Jan. 24 to replace the late Franjo Tudjman, officials said Tuesday.

Tudjman, who had led Croatia since its 1991 independence from Yugoslavia, died Dec. 10, two years before his term was to end. Tudjman, 77, failed to groom a successor despite widespread speculation in the past three years that he had been suffering from terminal stomach cancer.

Premier Zlatko Matesa announced the January election date Tuesday. Under Croatian law, an election to find a replacement must be held within 60 days of a president’s death.

Although polls favor moderate Foreign Minister Mate Granic, it is unclear whether he will be able to muster enough support within Tudjman’s Croatian Democratic Union to be chosen as the party’s candidate.

Moderates in the party appear to be losing ground to hard-liners who back an authoritarian approach to government. Vladimir Seks, parliament’s rightist deputy speaker, also has expressed interest in running for president. He enjoys a wide hard-line support base.

The opposition has united into a loose bloc of six parties but has failed to rally around one candidate.