BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 3526

HR-ELECTIONS-Politika BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 3526 BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 3526HINA Zagreb 6 February 2000MEDIA BLACKOUT TAKES EFFECT AHEAD OF CRO PRESIDENTIAL RUN-OFFZAGREB, Feb 6 (Hina) - Ahead of Croatia's presidential run-off, scheduled for Monday, February 7, the ban on electioneering came in force at midnight Saturday and will last until Monday midnight, when first unofficial results are expected to be announced. Two candidates contest the second round of the presidential ballot: Drazen Budisa of the Social Democratic Party/Croatian Social Liberal Party (SDP/HSLS) coalition, and Stipe Mesic of the Croatian People's Party (HNS). During the media blackout any assessment or forecast of the election's results must not be made public, the contestants are not allowed to give interviews or public statements, nor can their photos be shown in the media. On Monday, about 4.2 million Croats have the right to elect their second President since Croatia's independence. A