A glance at Croatia's parliamentary election

— A glance at Sunday's parliamentary elections in Croatia:

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PARLIAMENT: 151 parliamentary seats are up for grabs in the country of 4.3 million.

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PREMIERSHIP: If no party wins a majority, it can seek coalition partners. President Ivo Josipovic gives a mandate to the leader who guarantees his party or coalition would get support in parliament.

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MAIN CONTENDERS: Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor's center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and an opposition coalition led by Zoran Milanovic's center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP).

If no party or coalition wins outright majority, then a new coalition building process could take weeks.

-- Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ): Once fiercely nationalist, it ruled Croatia from its 1991 independence until 2000. The party returned to power in 2003, and is considered generally conservative.

-- Social Democratic Party (SDP): Came to power in 2000 on a staunchly pro-Western program; launched political and economic reforms that moved Croatia closer to the West.

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VOTING, RESULTS:

About 7,000 polling stations open at 7 a.m. (0600 GMT) and close at 7 p.m. (1800 GMT). Complete results likely Monday or Tuesday.