The new party president will also be the leader of the opposition.
The members of SDP had until midnight on Saturday to officially announce their bids for party president and members of the central party bodies. Central Election Commission received a total of 10 candidacies for party president, 98 candidacies for members of the party presidency and 431 bids for members of the SDP Main Committee, reports Index.hr on October 2, 2016.
Candidates for SDP president are Member of European Parliament Tonino Picula, former Interior Minister Ranko Ostojić, former Justice Minister Orsat Miljenić, head of the SDP branch in Zagreb Davor Bernardić, head of the SDP branch in Osijek-Baranja County Domagoj Hajduković, Duško Polovina, Gordana Sobol, Karolina Leaković, Vesna Škulić, and Kristijan Mohorović. Some of them have also submitted their candidacies for party presidency.
Among other members who are going to run for party presidency are former Finance Minister Boris Lalovac, former Entrepreneurship Minister Gordan Maras, former Veterans’ Affairs Minister Predrag Matic, former Labour Minister Mirando Mrsić, former Health Minister Rajko Ostojić, former Health Minister Siniša Varga, former Deputy Prime Minister Branko Grčić, former Social Policy Minister Milanka Opačić, and former Environmental Protection Minister Mihael Zmajlović, as well as current president of the SDP Main Committee Romana Jerković.
In order for their candidacies to be valid, candidates for party offices have until 31 October to collect signatures of support from party members, with the number of signatures depending on the position for which they run. Candidates for party president have to collect at least a thousand signatures, for presidency 400, and for the Main Committee 50 signatures. Party members can give their support to several candidacies.
The new SDP president will be elected on 19 November by party members under the “one member – one vote” principle. If no one has the majority of votes, the second round will take place one week later when members will choose among the two best-placed candidates. Outgoing party president and former Prime Minister Zoran Milanović announced that he would not run for re-election, after disappointing results of his party at the elections held on 11 September.
The party conference will take place on 3 December and delegates will then elect members of the Presidency and Main Committee.
