The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia ruled Monday that President Zoran Milanović can only run for prime minister if he resigns from his current position as president. 

President of the 15-judge court Miroslav Šumanović wrote for the court, explaining that Article 96 of the Croatian Constitution precludes a sitting president from participating in partisan political activities because the office of the presidency is a nonpartisan position. Specifically, Article 96 mandates that “[o]nce elected, the President of the Republic shall resign from membership in any political party.” Additionally, the decision explained that a sitting president running for parliament would violate Article 4 of the constitution, which establishes the separation of powers across the executive, legislative and judicial government branches. The court issued a warning that Milanović must stop any activities that are partisan while he holds the office of the president, such as running a campaign for prime minister, as that would violate the constitution. 

Croatia has both a president and a prime minister. Croatia’s president serves as the country’s head of state, taking care of daily activities and is responsible for control of the country’s military. The prime minister is known as the head of the government, working with parliament and holding more power than the president. The current prime minister is Andrej Plenković, who is a member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). The HDZ is a conservative Christian democratic party that pledges to uphold humanist values and patriotism by committing to the rule of law.

Milanović was previously a member of the progressive Social Democratic Party (SDP) and received an endorsement from the party following his announcement to run for prime minister. The SDP is focused on implementing policies to create affordable housing initiatives and healthcare, labor and agricultural reform. 

In February, protesters took to the streets in the capital city of Zagreb, demanding that elections be held immediately. This was due to actions taken by Plenković’s administration, including one bill that would criminalize the leak of police investigation information.

Parliamentary elections will take place on April 17.