PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MATE GRANIC GIVES STATEMENT

ZAGREB, Jan 25 (Hina) - I would like to congratulate the winners of the first round of the presidential elections; Drazen Budisa and Stjepan Mesic, said Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) presidential candidate Mate Granic after the announcement of first unofficial preliminary results of the presidential elections, early Tuesday morning. Granic said he expected a very tight result between the two presidential candidates in the second round of the election, regardless of the fact that Stipe Mesic gained 42 percent of the vote in the first round. Granic assessed his result at the elections more than good in given circumstances. The HDZ candidate said that the electoral campaign was fair, adding he had no objections. "My problems were of other nature", Granic stressed. He said that the crucial moment for his campaign was the late announcement of his candidacy, media conflicts, which, in Granic's opinion, completely shadowed his campaign in the first five to six days. Commenting on the situation in the HDZ and announcements that if elected president he would cancel his membership in the HDZ, Granic said he did not want to be a member of just any party, and that there would be no compromise. Granic stressed that he definitely cannot cooperate with certain people who are in the HDZ. When asked whether he could be satisfied only with the function of a parliament representative, Granic said he could but only for a certain time. (hina) it