AFP, Reuters, and DPA cited the results of exit polls saying that Mesic won 70.85 percent of votes and his rival, Jadranka Kosor of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), won 29.15 percent.
DPA reported a low turnout, saying that Mesic, who was supported by eight opposition centre-left parties, also counted on votes of ethnic minorities, primarily of Serbs and Hungarians.
Both candidates support Croatia's entry into the European Union (EU), but the ruling HDZ is described by Reuters as the conservatives who have only recently adopted pro-Western policies "after a prolonged flirtation with hardline nationalism." "Mesic is seen at home and abroad as a guarantor of Croatia's EU drive", the agency added.
" Western diplomats say the outcome will not affect Croatia's EU bid as the president's powers are limited", Reuters reported, adding that diplomats "see Mesic as a useful counterweight to the HDZ, which controls the cabinet and parliament, and praise him for his courage in denouncing war crimes committed by Croats during conflicts that tore apart socialist Yugoslavia".
AFP gives credit to the 70-year-old Mesic for having considerably contributed to Croatia's exit from international isolation in which the country was kept during the "autocratic" regime of Franjo Tudjman.