Leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Zoran Milanovic speaks at a press conference in Zagreb, capital of Croatia, Sept. 12, 2016. Croatia's main opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Zoran Milanovic announced on Monday he would not run for the party's helm. (Xinhua/Miso Lisanin)
ZAGREB, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Croatia's main opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Zoran Milanovic announced on Monday he would not run for the party's helm.
Milanovic, the former prime minister during 2011-2015, made the announcement at an extraordinary press conference after his party lost the Sunday's early parliamentary election.
Milanovic said he would not run for the another term as the SDP's chief, the position he has held since 2007, and hoped that inner-party election would be held as soon as possible.
According to the Statute of the SDP, inner-party presidential election should be held within 150 days after parliamentary election. Milanovic was re-elected with 62 percent support in last inner-party election in April this year.
"I want a stable government. In recent months we have had a very bad and unstable situation," he said.
He still hasn't decided if he would stay in politics, he said, adding "I don't know if I would be a member of the parliament but I would for sure do something interesting."
The SDP-led People's coalition won 54 seats in Sunday's election, two seats less than in last election held in November 2015 and also seven less than its rival of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), which stepped down following a no-confidence vote in June after in power only five months.
