Kukuriku Wins Croatian Parliamentary Election

Croatian center-left opposition leader Zoran Milanovic celebrates after exit polls showed his coalition had won a majority in parliamentary elections.

With nearly all the votes counted from parliamentary elections in Croatia on December 4, the center-left coalition Kukuriku seems headed for victory.

Results show Kukuriku won 80 of the 151 seats in parliament.

The ruling conservative HDZ party seems set to win only 48 seats after a campaign that was hampered by corruption scandals and the country's economic woes.

Kukuriku's leader Zoran Milanovic said on December 5 that "Croatia's wake-up starts now," playing on the name of the coalition, which is Croatian for a rooster's call.

The OSCE released its preliminary assessment, which said that while room remains for improvement, the elections "took place in a pluralistic environment and were administered in a professional and transparent manner."

compiled from agency reports