Bandic was followed by independent candidate Josip Kregar with 23.4 percent, while Jasen Mesic of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) was third with 12.9 percent.
The SDP candidate in Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel, won 57.6 percent and will remain in the mayoral seat of the biggest Croatian seaport, while Vesna Buterin of the HDZ followed with 19.4 percent and Nikola Ivanis of the regional PGS with 12.8 percent.
In Split, independent candidate Zeljko Kerum, a businessman, won 40.1 percent of the ballot and was followed by Ranko Ostojic of the SDP with 37.3 percent and Ivan Kuret of the HDZ with 15.5 percent.
In the largest eastern city of Osijek, the mayoral candidate of the regional HDSSB party, Kresimir Bubalo, gained 40.1 percent of votes, independent candidate Gordan Matkovic was second with 21.8 percent, while the present Mayor, Anto Djapic, the candidate of his Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) and the HDZ, mustered 21.1 percent.
It is the first time, 429 municipal heads, 127 city mayors, 21 county prefects and their deputies have been chosen in direct elections. The winner of a mayoral seat or a prefect seat has to secure 50 percent of the vote in the first round. In case no candidate wins a majority, the first two candidates will compete in a runoff two weeks after the first round of voting.
The exit poll for the Nova TV was conducted by the Ipso Puls agency on a sample of 13,000 voters by 1730 hours.