Leftist ex-premier leading in Croatia presidential vote: exit poll

Croatia's leftist former prime minister was leading in the first round of the presidential election on Sunday, according to an exit poll that puts the conservative incumbent and a right-wing folk singer vying for second place.

The election comes as the Balkan country prepares to take over the EU's rotating presidency next month.

According to the exit poll on Nova TV, Social Democrat Zoran Milanovic garnered 28.69% of the vote followed by 25.63% for incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

But close behind with 24.26% was Miroslav Skoro, a right-wing folk singer running as an independent.

The exit poll did not take into account votes from the Croatian diaspora, around 170,000 eligible voters who could ultimately determine who faces the run-off on January 5.

Grabar-Kitarovic, who took on the mostly ceremonial post as Croatia's first female president in 2015, is backed by the establishment HDZ party that has led the country for most of the past three decades. 

During the campaign she struggled to hold on to the party's far-right faction, who drifted towards folk singer-turned-politician Skoro. 

The split on the right carved out a space for centre-left Milanovic to take the...