COMMISSION: SDP-HSLS IN LEAD IN EIGHT CONSTITUENCIES, HDZ IN TWO

ZAGREB, Jan 4 (Hina) - According to preliminary and unofficial results announced by Croatia's National Electoral Commission at 02.00 am Tuesday, the roster of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) took the lead in the ninth electoral unit (parts of Lika, coastal towns of Zadar and Sibenik and the Dalmatian hinterland). The SDP- HSLS coalition was narrowly behind this party in that unit. According to the latest results, the coalition of the SDP (Social Democratic Party) and the HSLS (Croatian Social Liberal Party) won this election in eight constituencies by a landslide. The joint roster of the "Opposition Four" won over 10 percent of votes in a majority of electoral units. The coalition of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) and the Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU) crossed the election threshold of five percent in five constituencies. According to the information released at 02.00 am today, the list of the Croatian Peasants' Popular Party (HSNS) fell below that threshold. (In the first announcement of preliminary results it was said that this party managed to pass the election threshold in the tenth constituency). The report released by the Commission at 02.00 am Tuesday covered processed data of results from 4,155 polling stations, or 63.89 percent of 6,503 polling stations opened in Croatia on Monday for the election for the Sabor House of Representatives. According to results from 319 polling stations out of 356 in the first constituency, the SDP-HSLS coalition gathered 50.93 percent of votes. It was followed by the HDZ with 21.11 percent, and the roster of the Opposition Four which consists of the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), Liberal Party (LS), Croatian People's Party (HNS) and the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), won 12.07 percent of votes. In the second constituency the SDP-HSLS list won 45.16 percent of votes, the HDZ party 22.49 percent and the Opposition Four 16.40 percent. In the third electoral unit, the SDP-HSLS coalition was in the lead with 48.10 percent of votes, the HDZ gathered 20.14 percent and the Opposition Four 15.06 percent. In this constituency the data was processed from 486 out of 805 polling stations. The SDP-HSLS coalition, whom the SBHS party joined in the fourth electoral unit, won 38.09 percent of votes. The HDZ was on the second place with 24.14 percent of votes. The Opposition Four won 15.36 percent of votes and in this constituency the HSP-HKDU coalition passed the threshold winning 8.04 votes. The preliminary results in the fifth constituency show that the HDZ was in the lead with 31.17 percent of votes. It was followed by the SDP-HSLS coalition that won 27.70 percent. The Opposition Four was on the third place with 20.07 percent, whereas the HSP-HKDU coalition gathered 6.26 percent of votes. In this unit results from 516 polling stations out of 658 were processed by that time. In the sixth electoral unit, the SDP-HSLS coalition won 47.04 percent. The HDZ was on the second place with 21.75 percent, while the Opposition Four won 12.68 percent and the coalition HSP-HKDU had 5.50 percent. In the seventh electoral unit the SDP-HSLS coalition was in the lead with 44.08 percent. They were followed by the HDZ with 25.03 percent. On the third place was the Opposition Four that won 12.46 percent, while the HSP-HKDU won 5.61 percent. The results from the eight constituency show that the SDP-HSLS coalition, whom the PGS party joined, won 41.21 percent. They were followed by the Opposition Four with 32.13 percent and the HDZ was on the third place with 13.66 percent of votes. The changes in the preliminary results after their first announcement were registered in the ninth unit. After the processing of data from 236 out of 708 polling stations in this constituency the HDZ list took over the lead with 32.54 percent. The SDP-HSLS was on the second place with 32.06 percent. The Opposition Four won 10.38 percent and the HSP-HKDU 8.36 percent. There were changes in the tenth electoral unit where the HSNS party fell below the election threshold as the latest results from 386 polling stations out of 674 showed that this party won 4.52 percent of the votes. The SDP-HSLS coalition won 40.48 percent, the HDZ was on the second place with 27.76 percent, and the Opposition Four passed the threshold with 9.28 percent. (hina) ms