The State Electoral Commission of the Republic of Croatia has this week published the official list of candidates for the imminent presidential elections. Five of the initial thirteen hopefuls either failed to collect the required 10,000 valid signatures of support for their candidacy or simply withdrew. Eight candidates remain who will participate in the race for the Presidential Office on Pantovčak in Zagreb. They are in alphabetical order: Miro Bulj, Tomislav Jonjic, Ivana Kekin, Branka Lozo, Zoran Milanovic (the incumbent), Dragan Primorac, Marija Selak Raspudic, Niko Tokic Kartelo.

Tomislav Jonjic, who is running as an independent candidate, announced his candidacy some seven months ago, and I also gave him my support publicly without any hesitation when I visited Croatia in September this year. When Jonjic announced his plan to run for President of the country, he was almost immediately blocked by the state-controlled and other mainstream media because he is neither a “servant” of HDZ/Croatian Democratic Union nor of SDP/Social Democratic Party – the two political forces in Croatia that have been the only ones with their own man in the presidential post so far. And this is not good at all, because the mentality of communist Yugoslavia cannot be extinguished under their leadership, or rather, that it ends up in the graveyard of the defeat of the Serbian and Yugoslav aggressors in the Homeland War. And here we are in 2024, and Tomislav Jonjic is running for president. His candidacy is no longer a wish or an intention, it is real. He has collected so many signatures of support that this number would be enough for not one but several candidates. So, for the first time in the history of independent Croatia, an independent candidate has received a relatively enormous number of signatures of support for his candidacy. Congratulations!

Now it is up to us voters to make this historic moment in the race for Pantovčak even more solid and effective with our vote for Jonjic in the elections! Croatia needs a rudder of a completely different political fabric at its helm than what we have had so far, especially since 2000, when Croatianness began to slide downhill as something for which rivers of Croatian blood were not lost! And it was! Yugoslav communism gained new wings the moment former communists Stjepan Mesic and Ivica Racan took the rudder in the hands. Voters have until

18 December 2024

to register to vote for absentee votes for those with residence in Croatia and those who have residence outside of Croatia and wish to vote at their nearest polling station.

The Croatian Film Institute – USA, led by Nikola Knez, recently stated that Presidential candidate Dr. Tomislav Jonjic is a just leader with clear visions and an advocate for Croatian national interests. This statement was published in the Croatian Weekly Hrvatski tjednik on October 24, 2024, and I am translating it here into English so that as many people around the world as possible can become aware of it, especially citizens of the Republic of Croatia who have the right to vote in the elections that will be held on December 29 of this year. It is a short to the point presentation of the politician that Jonjic is.

The Croatian Film Institute was founded in 2015 in Croatia and the USA, with headquarters in Zagreb and Houston. It was created to spread knowledge about Croatian film, culture and history in the country and the world. In addition to films, we also publish (the only ones in the world) scientific articles, which unite individual topics into a unique product. The institute’s website features interviews that depict certain important moments in Croatian history and the present. I am proud to highlight our cooperation with American academic institutions. Film academic professionals who participate in the work have been awarded more than 80 prestigious American awards so far, states Knez (featured in inserted photo).

Tomislav Jonjic’s name is extremely well known, especially as a lawyer, historian, editor and publicist. He is open and eloquent. He was a volunteer in the Croatian Homeland War. He was employed at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Switzerland, and for a time worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia. For years, he has edited the journal Political Prisoner, a monthly magazine of the Croatian Society of Political Prisoners. He is also the author of several notable books. He is known for his harsh condemnation of communism and Yugoslavianism in any form, aware that they represent the negation of the Croatian state, as well as for his heartfelt calls for lustration.

Tomislav Jonjic is a brave and ambitious candidate for President of the Republic of Croatia who has a vision of what the Croatian people want to achieve. His desire is to bring changes to society, restore the trust of citizens and encourage them to take their destiny into their own hands. He has a vision of Croatia filled with justice, prosperity and balance. Jonjic brings ideas for improving the economy and justice with an emphasis on sustainable development that will ensure prosperity for all generations, and the goal of natural partners should be Western countries that not only respect the heritage of our ancestors but also build the foundations for a future that will ensure prosperity and security for all Croats in the country and abroad.

“It is necessary to make people aware of the importance of their voice and encourage them to actively participate in the democratic process,” Jonjic emphasizes, adding: “Croatian citizens must understand that only united people have power and that together they can build a better future.”

Jonjic’s program is a kind of political manifesto that shows what he wants to see Croatia as by the end of his mandate: as a modern, future-oriented, independent and democratic state with a fairer and healthier political system, firmly anchored to the West and loyal to its allies. “It is a state of human rights and freedoms, a country that people will come to, but will not leave,” says Jonjic, and continues: “But above all, it is the Croatian state, the state of the Croatian people and all those who accept it as their own!”

Jonjic’s political platform includes the political, economic, cultural and military strengthening of the democratic Croatian state, a clear orientation towards the West, to which it has belonged since time immemorial, advocacy for the equality of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and reform of the political system, which would also mean liberation from the Yugoslav communist ballast. “That could be a summary of my program, which is formulated in 30 points,” says Jonjic.

It has already been announced that the refinement of this program was helped by the opinions and advice of Croatian intellectuals of various political orientations, Croatian defenders, from generals to soldiers, prominent writers, journalists, economists and athletes, as well as Croatian political emigrants, even two of our bishops.

“My candidacy is the result of my sense of responsibility for the fate of the Croatian people and their state,” emphasizes Jonjic.

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Ina Vukic