Cesic pledged to establish the rule of law and a welfare state in order to protect ordinary people. He stressed that of the 13 presidential candidates only he was a war veteran and that he felt most qualified to protect Croatian national interests.
Cesic said he had not yet been summoned for an interview over his recent statement in Vukovar, when he relayed the greetings from the runaway general to the crowd attending his rally.
"If they call me for an interview, I will tell them what I am telling you. I know where Ante Gotovina is, just as you do. Ante Gotovina is in the heart of every honest and decent Croat," Cesic said, adding that many ordinary people had told him that "they would protect Ante Gotovina with their own bodies".
"If Ante falls, Croatia will also fall," Cesic said, stressing that he was confident that Gotovina would never surrender to the Hague tribunal.
After his speech, Cesic and other members of his election team joined a singer on the stage in the rendition of a song entitled "Ante Gotovina". Most in the 200-strong crowd also joined in.
As part of his visit to Sisak County, Cesic laid a wreath and lit a candle on the grave of General Janko Bobetko, wartime armed forces chief of staff, in the Sisak town cemetery.