These are the candidates in the race for Pantovčak: A lady against three gentlemen

Four candidates – Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, Ivo Josipović, Milan Kujundžić and Ivan Vilibor Sinčić - can compete for the President of the Republic in the elections on December 28, the State Election Commission (DIP) officially announced today, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria. 

The Commission did so after verifying the validity of all seven received candidacies.

With the publication of the list of presidential candidates, the conditions have been met for the official election promotion to start at midnight, i.e., with the first minutes of Tuesday, December 9. It will last very briefly, only 18 days, until the election silence on December 26.

Grabar Kitarović is the candidate of the HDZ, Josipović is the candidate of the SDP, Kujundžić of the Alliance for Croatia, and Sinčić of the Living Wall, an association that opposes violent evictions and seizures.

Three independent candidates also submitted their candidacies to the DIP - Slobodan Midžić, Ratko Dobrović and Ivan Bavčević, but they were not valid because they did not have the required minimum of 10,000 signatures of support.

More than 328,000 voters signed for Grabar Kitarović's candidacy, more than 203,000 for Josipović's, about 50,000 for Kujundžić's, and more than 15,000 voters for Sinčić's candidacy.

No later than three days after the start of the official campaign, all four candidates must announce whether and how much of their own funds they will invest in the campaign.

Kujundžić was the first to do so, on December 5, announcing that he would spend a maximum of 50,000 kuna, exclusively from the salary he earns at KB Dubrava.

Seven days before the election, i.e., on December 20, the candidates must submit preliminary reports to the DIP on received donations and campaign costs.