- Milanović and Primorac Advances to the Second Round of Presidential Election in Croatia
Croatian incumbent President Zoran Milanović, supported by the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP), won the first round of the presidential election with 49 % of the vote, contrary to his main rival, Dragan Primorac (with only 19 %), supported by the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
Zoran Milanović managed to win in all counties (regions), in the capital, Zagreb, as well as in all major Croatian cities.
The first round was a surprise to everyone due to the high results of the incumbent President and the very low results of the candidate from the ruling party.
The main reason for disappointing result of the HDZ candidate is considered to be the corruption scandals in the current government. In particular, on the eve of the elections, Croatia’s Minister of Health was detained on suspicion of procurement fraud.
Prime Minister and HDZ leader Andrej Plenković said his party was not satisfied with the results of the first round of the presidential election and stressed that HDZ would support its candidate. “This is a race in which we supported Dragan Primorac, and we will support him for another two weeks, and we want him to achieve the best result. We are convinced that he is better for Croatia than Milanović,” the Prime Minister said.
Independent media and political analysts characterize Milanović as a populist who supports anti-Western positions and underlining his anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian stance. However, these characteristics did not prevent him from gaining strong electoral support.
The second round of the presidential election in Croatia will be held on January 12.
- Charges Filed against Those Responsible for the Reconstruction of the Novi Sad Railway Station
The High Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad has filed charges against 13 people, including former Transport Minister Goran Vesic and two former directors of the Serbian Railways Infrastructure. It includes designers, as well as those responsible for audit, technical control, construction work and professional supervision.
The Prosecutor’s Office is also requesting an extension of their detention, as well as the detention of those who remains at large.
“The indictment has been submitted to the Higher Court in Novi Sad, accompanied by all the documentation collected during the preliminary investigation and the investigation process, as well as all other evidence supporting the existence of reasonable suspicion for the indictment,” a Prosecutor’s Office Spokesman announced.
The indictments by the Prosecutor’s Office come two months after the collapse of a train station canopy in Novi Sad, killing 15 people and seriously injuring two others. The collapse resulted in mass protests in Serbia that continue to this day. The main demand of the opposition, students and civil society activists is a thorough investigation of the incident and punishment of all perpetrators.
The same day, the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office published all investigation documentation on its website, fulfilling another demand of the protesters.
Opposition leaders have already stated that the indictments did not indicate the effective work of state institutions, but is a result of public pressure on the authorities.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina Security Minister Arrested on Corruption Charges
The Minister of Security in the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nenad Nešić, was detained on December 26 as part of the Tunnel 2 Operation. The BiH State Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the case in cooperation with the Organized Crime Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska (BiH).
The suspects, including Dakić, Director of the Putevi RS Public Enterprise (Roads of RS), and five additional individuals, are accused of money laundering, abuse of office and accepting bribes.
On December 29, the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ordered the detention for one month of Nešić. However, according to media reports, the minister is under guard in hospital due to poor health.
Nešić has been the Minister of Security of BiH since 2022, and was the Director of the Putevi RS Public Enterprise from 2016 to 2020. Nešić is currently the leader of the Democratic People’s Alliance, which is part of the ruling coalition in Republika Srpska together with Milorad Dodik’s Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD).
- Tirana Mayor Is Under Investigation
The Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) of Albania issued a statement on investigation into Tirana Mayor Erion Velijai on December 27.
The Mayor of the Albanian capital has been under investigation since March of last year on four criminal charges, including “passive and active corruption”, “refusal to declare, false declaration, concealment” and “laundering of proceeds of criminal activity”.
On December 26, Velijai testified for over five hours at (SPAK). Two days later, the Mayor of Tirana left the country.
Erion Velijai is a key figure in the ruling Socialist Party and one of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s closest associate.
Rama, responding on December 30 to a question about the SPAK investigation against Mayor Erion Veliaj, stated that he was not going to comment on issues that belong to the justice institutions, calling “the public lynching of the Mayor disgusting.”
