HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko has run an electoral campaign heavy in patriotic rhetoric, glorifying his party's late founder and 'Father of the Nation', Franjo Tudjman.The government has meanwhile consistently accused the opposition of corruption.

"Both the HDZ and SDP have failed.Some fed-up voters are opting for smaller parties such as newcomer Most (meaning 'Bridge' in Croatian), which could end up playing a key role in post-election negotiations.Nearly 350,000 migrants have passed through Croatia since mid-September on their way to northern Europe, after Hungary closed its border with Serbia.The conservative HDZ, the leading opposition party, was boosted in January by the victory of its candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic in the presidential election.But the ruling 'Croatia is Growing' coalition has since closed the gap in the opinion polls, amid light economic growth and the introduction of populist measures, such as a law converting Swiss franc loans into euros to help struggling borrowers.8 million Croatians eligible to vote."People are above all concerned with the economy but neither of the two parties was giving real answers to those key issues," independent political consultant Davor Gjenero said.The polls open at 7am (0600 GMT) and close 12 hours later, with 3.Polls open at 7am (0600 GMT) and close 12 hours later Zagreb: Croatians vote in a general election on Sunday with conservatives aspiring to return to power, as the EU nation faces a wave of migrants and slowly emerges from six years of recession.

The opposition has accused the government since the start of the influx of lacking control, but does not appear to have capitalised on the crisis. The key is to reform bureaucracy and open jobs," said political sciences student Fabijan, 21, at a most party rally this week.Although a return to growth of nearly one percent is expected this year, public debt stands at nearly 90 percent of gross domestic product and unemployment at 16.The ruling coalition, in power since 2011, has been blamed for failing to reform the country's inefficient public sector or improve the business climate in Croatia, one of the EU's weakest economies.

"This is a battle for Croatia!" he declared at a 15,000-strong rally on Thursday, intimating that his SDP rivals, with communist roots in the former Yugoslavia, were anti-independence.The party has dominated Croatian politics since the former Yugoslav republic proclaimed independence in 1991, a move that sparked a four-year war with rebel Serbs.2 percent in September 43.Neither camp is expected to win an outright China Compression Tooling Manufacturers majority in the 151-seat parliament, making it likely that the government's make-up will be decided in post-election talks with smaller parties.Milanovic also seems to have earned support over his policy towards refugees transiting through Croatia to Slovenia, by both showing compassion and pledging to defend national interests.The HDZ was ousted in 2011 amid a series of unprecedented scandals involving its former leader and ex-prime minister Ivo Sanader.1 percent among youths.