(ANSA) - ZAGREB - In all the major cities of Croatia, where the local elections took place on Sunday, no candidate for mayor won 50% of the vote , therefore second ballots are scheduled to be held within two weeks.

According to exit poll forecast broadcast, the powerful outgoing Zagreb mayor Milan Bandic, independent populist, who has been mayor since 2000, will have to defeat the centre-left candidate, Anka Mrak Taritas, former minister of construction. Croatian Democratic Union (Hdz, conservatives), are in fourth place, and this was a disappointing result for prime minister Andrej Plenkovic, head of HDZ. Polling predictions show a highly fragmented Croatian electorate and political scene, and this is fully reflected at the national level, since the government coalition split up only a month ago. The premier announced that after the second ballots, even taking into account their outcome, he will try to reshuffle the government in accordance with a new majority.

(ANSA).