The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) will hold its 15th general convention on Sunday at which it is expected to elect party president, deputy president, vice presidents, members of the HDZ presidency and members of the party's head committee.
Some 2,200 delegates will cast their ballots for one of the five candidates - the incumbent HDZ president Jadranka Kosor, current Deputy President Darko Milinovic, Tomislav Karamarko, Domagoj Ivan Milosevic and Milan Kujundzic. The candidates for the positions of deputy president are Andrej Plenkovic, Drago Prgomet and Ante Sanader.
By Saturday, the candidates must collect the necessary number of signatures for the position they are running for. Candidates for party president must collect at least 400 signatures, candidates for deputy president 300 signatures, vice presidents 250 signatures, members of the presidency 200 signatures and members of the head committee 100 signatures. Delegates can support more than one candidate.
Jadranka Kosor was elected HDZ president by acclamation at the HDZ general convention on 4 July 2009, after her predecessor Ivo Sanader resigned as prime minister and party president. Sanader was HDZ president from 2000 to 2009 when he was named honorary president. After announcing his stronger involvement in the party on 3 January 2010 at an extraordinary news conference, the HDZ presidency decided to expunge him from the party, saying that Sanader's activities were causing harm to the party's reputation and the then ruling coalition led by the HDZ.
