NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION ISSUES STATEMENT

ZAGREB, Jan 25 (Hina) - According to data of the National Electoral Commission which arrived by 11.15AM Tuesday, a total of 99.5 percent of polling stations, at which Croatian citizens cast their ballots for the president of the state, were processed. Presidential candidate of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) Stipe Mesic gained 41.11 percent, followed by candidate of the coalition of the Croatian Social-Liberal Party (HSLS)/ Social Democratic Party (SDP) Drazen Budisa who gained 27.70 percent of the vote. As none of them gained the necessary majority of the vote, namely 50 percent of all cast ballots, Budisa and Mesic would run in the second round of elections, scheduled for February 7. Presidential candidate of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Mate Granic came in third with 22.46 percent of the vote. The other six candidates who participated in the presidential elections received less than five percent of the vote. Independent candidate Slaven Letica mustered 4.14 percent of the vote. He is followed by Anto Djapic, the candidate of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) with 1.84 percent of the vote. Another independent candidate Ante Ledic is the sixth with 0.85 percent. The candidate of the Croatian Populace Party (HPS) Tomislav Mercep won 0.85 percent. Ante Prkacin, the leader of the New Croatia (NH) party, mustered 0.28 percent, while the last was independent candidate Zvonimir Separovic with 0.25 percent. According to so far processed data, of 4,249,062 registered voters, 2,676,100 cast their ballots, namely 62.98 percent. (hina) it