Zagreb - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Wednesday scheduled regular parliamentary elections for November 25. Parties and candidates now have two weeks to submit their tickets, while campaigning officially begins on November 3.
The 4.4 million registered voters elect a maximum of 160 representatives to the Croatian parliament, the Sabor.
Croatian law stipulates that the Sabor may have between 100 and 160 deputies.
To qualify for the legislature, a ticket must collect at least 5 per cent of the votes cast, with a positive discrimination clause enabling minorities to have representatives with fewer votes.
In elections four years ago, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's conservative Croatian Democratic Union claimed 66 of the 152 seats.
The previously ruling Social Democratic Party became the leading opposition party which is now hoping to cash in on Sanader's dipping popularity and retake power.
