Speaking to reporters after the closure of polling stations at 7 p.m., Miksic said that results from polling stations abroad had not come in yet, and that he rated well among Croatian emigrant communities.
According to exit polls, Miksic won around 20 per cent of the vote. The incumbent president Stjepan Mesic leads with around 50 per cent, while the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Jadranka Kosor, came in third with around 17 per cent.
Miksic predicted that he would win more than 20 per cent and Mesic 45 per cent, and that a new president would be elected in the second round.
"This is the greatest day in my life," an excited Miksic said. "With this result I have proved that an independent candidate can really become a dangerous opponent."
Miksic said that he was beating the candidate of the governing party, and that this showed that people were ready for change.
"I may be a symbol of change which Croatian people want, the change which must occur," Miksic said.