Croatia’s election commission announced on Sunday that outgoing president Zoran Milanovic had failed to win the first round of voting and would face the ruling conservative party’s candidate Dragan Primorac in the second round, scheduled for two weeks later.

Milanovic topped the first round with 49.20 per cent of the vote against 19.43 per cent for Primorac, according to official results based on votes counted in about 99 per cent of polling stations.

Far fewer Croatians voted on Sunday than in April’s parliamentary elections.