Rajko Ostojic and Gordan Maras are new vice-presidents of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SDP), while Milanka Opacic and Zlatko Komadina will remain in this position for another four-year term, SDP delegates decided at an election convention in Zagreb on Saturday.
Ostojic, who serves as Minister of Health in the present government, received 1,216 votes. Maras (Minister of Entrepreneurship and Crafts) gained 1,094 votes, Opacic (Minister of Social Policy and Youth) 850 and Komadina 834 votes. Komadina recently resigned as Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure for health reasons.
The other candidates for these positions were Arsen Bauk (Minister of Public Administration), Branko Grcic (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds Management), Zeljko Jovanovic (Minister of Science, Education and Sport), and Mirando Mrsic (Minister of Labour and Pension System).
Earlier on, the SDP delegates elected 17 members of the Presidency and 103 members of the Main Committee.
SDP President Zoran Milanovic said after the vote that the SDP's convention was an example of how "a normal, democratic and European party behaves." "Let's move on together. Let's win people's trust and let's win new victories for the SDP and for Croatia," he said at the end of the party's 12th election convention.
Milanovic said that the team that had been elected today to lead the party in the next four years was facing both local and parliamentary elections. "We will do all we can to win again, but in the meantime we will also fight for Croatia and for ourselves, the Social Democratic Party, a modern European party that wants to lead Croatia into Europe in the right way."
Milanovic recalled that five years ago today he had for the first time been elected SDP President, thanking the membership for their support.
