BUDISA CONVINCED OF VICTORY IN FIRST ROUND

ZAGREB, Jan 7 (Hina) - Drazen Budisa, a candidate for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) - Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) coalition, expressed conviction Friday that he would win in the first round of upcoming presidential elections in Croatia. Budisa told reporters he hoped the turnout of voters on January 24 would be equal to that during the past parliamentary elections early this month. "I hope citizens will realise that it is now equally important to vote at the presidential elections," Budisa said. He held the presidential elections would be an end to a cycle the SDP-HSLS coalition had begun with a convincing victory in the parliamentary poll of January 3. "We wish to relay to citizens that changes can be implemented only if the same team wins," Zdravko Tomac, head of Budisa's electoral headquarters, said. Tomac expressed conviction a victory of the Croatian democratic Union's (HDZ) candidate, Mate Granic, would "mean a hindrance to change". It is not possible to avoid the fact in this campaign that the main challengers are people of differing political concepts," he said. Tomac said Budisa and Racan (SDP president) were people for changes, while Granic was a man whose sole task was to save the HDZ. Budisa announced that as president of the country, he would, together with the Government and Parliament, change the semi- presidential system into a parliamentary system, draw out the country from international isolation and expedite the process of its rearing closer to the European Union. Budisa announced he would reduce the expenditure of the Office of the President to two-thirds and transfer it to some more appropriate location. (hina) lml