Croatia voters participating in the second round of presidential elections in January. Photo: BETAPHOTO/AP Photo/Darko Bandic

Polling stations opened at 7am on Sunday in Croatia, where more than 3.7 million voters have the opportunity to cast votes in parliamentary elections.

Who they will choose is hard to call after a closely fought campaign between the governing centre-left coalition and its centre-right opponents.

After six years of economic recession and high unemployment, the first signs of recovery began to show at the beginning of this year.

However, voters yearn for faster economic recovery, more jobs and a lower cost of living.

The country is also coping with a difficult refugee crisis, although this topic has stayed on the sidelines of the campaign.

Voters will choose among 168 lists of parties and individual candidates in ten constituencies in Croatia, another constituency for Croats living abroad and a special constituency reserved for national minorities.

The main choice is between the governing centre-left coalition, Croatia Grows, led by the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and the centre-right Patriotic Coalition, led by the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ.

Both coalitions have led personalized campaigns based on their leaders – SDP president and Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic and HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko.

According to most opinion polls, the outcome of the election is unpredictable.

The latest poll by the polling agency Ipsos puls and published by the private TV station Nova on Thursday, conducted on 4,000 people within ten constituencies, awarded Croatia Grows 60 seats and the Patriotic Coalition 57, out of 140 seats in these constituencies.

However, the Patriotic Coalition is also expected to win the three additional seats reserved for voters outside Croatia, so the result could be a tie.

Since another eight seats are reserved for national minorities, making 151 seats in total, each coalition will need 76 MPs to form a government. Croatia has not had a minority government in 25 years of parliamentary history.

An important role may be played by a newcomer in politics, the Bridge of Independent Lists, MOST, which stands to win 12 seats, according to Nova TV’s poll.

During Saturday and until polling stations close at 7pm on Sunday evening, all campaign-related advertising and activities are forbidden.

First unofficial results will follow on Sunday evening, while the official results will be presented within 48 hours of the closure of the polls.