Voters in Croatia are casting ballots in local elections Sunday considered to be a test of popularity for the ruling Croatian Democratic Union.
At stake are thousands of seats in city and regional councils, including in the capital, Zagreb.
Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's government has seen sliding poll numbers since a March decision by the European Union to postpone membership talks over Croatia's failure to turn over fugitive war crimes suspect Ante Gotovina to the Hague war crimes tribunal. Croatia's government says it has no knowledge of the general's whereabouts.
Observers say the government may also have trouble taking urban votes away from opposition center-left parties due to its failure to deal with economic problems.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
