The State Electoral Commission (DIP) said on Wednesday that 12 candidates had met conditions for participation in elections for President of Croatia, to be held on December 27, and that five of them had been nominated by political parties, while seven were independent candidates.

The presidential candidates whose candidacies are valid are: Milan Bandic (independent candidate), Andrija Hebrang (Croatian Democratic Union), Ivo Josipovic (Social Democratic Party), Josip Jurcevic (independent candidate), Damir Kajin (Istrian Democratic Party), Boris Miksic (independent candidate), Dragan Primorac (independent candidate), Vesna Pusic (Croatian People's Party), Vesna Skare Ozbolt (independent candidate), Miroslav Tudjman (independent candidate), Nadan Vidosevic (independent candidate), and Slavko Vuksic (Democratic Party of the Slavonian Plane).

DIP president Branko Hrvatin said that two candidates, Veljko Dzakula and Dejan Golubic, had given up their plan to take part in the elections before the DIP decided on the validity of their candidacies.

The DIP rejected seven candidacies.

Hrvatin recalled that campaigning for the presidential elections would officially start on Thursday, November 19.