Croatia's opposition wins election

Croatia's Opposition leader Tomislav Karamarko, second from left, celebrates his coalition's victory in Zagreb on Monday.

Croatia's incumbent Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic votes at a polling station in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, Croatia's ruling center-left coalition lost the election against a strong challenge from the conservative opposition. The partial outcomes recommend neither bloc has won an outright majority within the November eight poll, and can depend upon several little parties to form a brand new authorities.

The "biggest surprise" in the vote overshadowed by the migration crisis in Europe is the alliance of independent candidates, Most ('brigde' in Croatian), which will have 19 seats.

The neck-and-neck finish means both the Social Democrats and HDZ, led by Tomislav Karamarko, have a chance to build support among other parties to form a government, which must build on a nascent economic recovery in the Adriatic state of 4.2 million people.

Croatia's conservative opposition has won the most seats in the country's parliamentary elections, but not enough to govern on its own.

Turnout was at 46.6 percent of the electorate two and a half hours before polls closed, higher than during the last general election in 2011 when the left-wing coalition won.

More than 330,000 migrants have passed through Croatia since mid-September, crossing the border from Serbia at a daily rate of 5,000 or sometimes 10,000.

Voting in Zagreb, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic said people were "choosing their destiny for the next four years".

"We clearly said that reforms are the condition, but not a few compromise, but the whole package: public administration, monetary system, justice", most leader Bozo Petrov said after preliminary results announcement, according to DPA.

With Croatia just emerging from a six-year recession and youth unemployment at 40%, the economy also featured prominently in the runup to the vote.

Two main issues of the election campaign by the main oponents were the weak economy and the migrant crisis amid the influx of Middle East refugees passing through the Balkan region on their journey to reach the European Union further north. The government of Milanovic has faced wide spread criticism for freely allowing the migrants, by the conservatives who have indirectly made clear their agenda to deploy the army to the border to stop the migrant flow.