1992 Croatian presidential election

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Turnout	74.90%
Nominee Franjo Tuđman Dražen Budiša Party HDZ HSLS Popular vote 1,519,100 585,535 Percentage 57.83% 22.29%   Nominee Savka Dabčević-Kučar Dobroslav Paraga Party HNS HSP Popular vote 161,242 144,695 Percentage 6.14% 5.51%
President before election Franjo Tuđman HDZ Elected President Franjo Tuđman HDZ

Presidential elections were held in Croatia for the first time on 2 August 1992 alongside simultaneous parliamentary elections. ^[1] The result was a victory for incumbent Franjo Tuđman of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), who received 57.8% of the vote, becoming the first popularly elected president of Croatia. Voter turnout was 74.9%. ^[2]

The 1,519,000 votes received by Tuđman remains the highest number of votes won by any president to date. Having previously been selected as president by Parliament, he was sworn in for his first constitutional five-year term as president on 12 August 1992 at Saint Mark's square in Zagreb.

The elections were criticised by international observers, who noted several problems, including issues with opposition access to state media, the timing of the election and the impartiality of officials. ^[3] The timing was deemed to be favourable to the HDZ government, who had delayed approving electoral laws in violation of the country's new constitution. ^[3] The period of time between the announcement of the elections and the election date itself was considered "unusually short", making it difficult for opposition parties and election officials to prepare. ^[3] The elections were also scheduled for a holiday, when a significant number of people would be away from their home towns and unable to vote. ^[3]