Members of county, city/town and municipal councils are elected for a four-year term through proportional representation, with the entire local government unit as a single constituency.

The Parliament of Croatia (Croatian: Hrvatski Sabor) consists of 151 members elected to four-year terms in twelve constituencies.

These are defined on the basis of the existing county borders, with necessary amendments to achieve a uniform number of eligible voters in each constituency (plus or minus five percent).

Smaller sums were paid to parties or candidates failing to win any parliamentary seats, provided that they received more than five percent of the votes cast in a constituency.

The Chamber of Deputies had been elected a few months earlier, and its members enacted legislation creating a new territorial organisation of Croatia.

The presidential elections are regulated by the constitution and dedicated legislation; however, the latter only defines technical details, appeals and similar issues.

The endorsements are required in the form of a list containing name, address, personal identification number and voter signature.

If the current president serves out his full term, which began on 19 February 2020 and lasts for 5 years, the election must be held on a date between 21 December 2024 and 20 January 2025.

The result was a victory for Franjo Tuđman of the HDZ, who received 57.8 percent of the vote in the first round of the election (ahead of seven other candidates).

The incumbent, Franjo Tuđman, ran opposed by Zdravko Tomac (candidate of the SDP) and Vlado Gotovac (nominated by the HSLS).

The third presidential elections were held on 24 January 2000 to fill the office of President, after incumbent Franjo Tuđman died on 10 December 1999.

In the first round incumbent Ivo Josipović won most of votes in front of second Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (HDZ) and third Ivan Vilibor Sinčić (ŽZ).

The second round was held on 11 January 2015 with Grabar Kitarović closely wins in front of Josipović who become first Croatian president who was not re-elected.

[32] Members of county, city and municipal councils are elected to four-year terms through proportional representation, with the entire local government unit as a single constituency.

[34] Number of seats in each county, city or municipality is defined by the Law on Local and Regional Self-Government and depends on their population.

[39][40] There have been four other public initiatives to collect the support of 10 percent of voters for a referendum, none of which were successful: concerning Croatian cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia,[41] concerning accession of Croatia to NATO in 2008,[42][43] concerning Arbitration Agreement on Croatian-Slovenian border issues in 2009,[44] and concerning Labour Act in 2010.

In order to become an official candidate, 10,000 signatures from Croatian citizens aged 18 or over must be collected and submitted to the State Electoral Commission.

This must be done within 12 days following the publication of the decision to hold elections in Narodne Novine, the official gazette of the Republic of Croatia.

The endorsements are made in a list comprising name, address and personal identification number (PIN) of each of the citizens supporting a particular candidate.

[37] The funding of political parties, independent politicians and election campaigns is relatively highly regulated in comparison with developed western democracies.

[50] Applicable legislation encompasses cash receipts, provision of free services (except the labour of volunteers), and products and other forms of support (including membership fees).

Each election candidate (or slate) must have a dedicated bank account to handle election-campaign donations, other related funding, and all campaign-related expenditures.

A sum of 30,000 kuna (c. 4,050 euro) will be paid to parties or candidates failing to win any parliamentary seats if they receive more than five percent of votes in a constituency.

[51] Legislation requires that all presidential and parliamentary election candidates (or slates) are guaranteed equal opportunity to present and discuss their platforms in the media (in addition to paid advertising).

Other voters residing in Croatia, but traveling abroad on election day may vote at Croatian diplomatic missions.

Presidential election ballots contain a list of candidates verified by the State Electoral Commission, in alphabetical order.

Parliamentary election and European Parliament election ballots contain the name of the slate and the name of the person heading the list, in addition to candidates, who is not necessarily a candidate on the particular list, but may be included as a figurehead symbolizing specific political party or a coalition putting forward the list—usually head of the party of coalition at the national level.

The register is organized according to legal residence (prebivalište) and maintained by government offices in counties and the city of Zagreb.

Voters who expect to travel in Croatia or abroad on election day may require inclusion in a provisional list which allows them to vote at a polling station other than that assigned to them by residence.

The State Electoral Commission prepares and manages elections in accordance with legislation, appoints lower-ranking election-commission and board members, issues directives to such bodies and supervises their work.