ZAGREB -- Voting for the Croatian presidential election began at 7 am (0600 GMT) on Sunday, with over 3.7 million eligible voters across the country set to vote for a new president.

Recent polls showed incumbent President Zoran Milanovic and independent candidate Dragan Primorac backed by the ruling Croatian Democratic Union have ranked first and second respectively among the eight candidates.

Croatia's president is elected using a majority voting system. If no candidate wins an outright majority, the top two candidates will face a runoff two weeks later, on Jan 12.

According to the State Electoral Commission, Croatian voters this year can cast their ballot not only at 6,650 polling stations set up in Croatia but also abroad, across 38 countries at 105 polling stations.

The Croatian president serves a five-year term and can be re-elected once.