Croatians were voting in closely contested parliamentary elections today, choosing between the ruling conservatives set to steer the ex-Yugoslav country into the European Union and leftist opposition.

Croatia’s incumbent president Stipe Mesic promised today to align the former Yugoslav country more closely with the West after overwhelmingly winning a second term in a run-off election.

Croatian President Stipe Mesic insisted he would win a presidential runoff and lead Croatia to the European Union after failing by a narrow margin to win an outright first-round victory in yesterday’s election.

In a serious blow to Croatia’s new, pro-Western Government, the nationalist party of the late President Franjo Tudjman did much better than expected in yesterday’s local elections, leading in several counties and finishing second in Zagreb, the capital.

Hardline Croatian nationalist attacked NATO peacekeepers in the city of Mostar yesterday after they mounted a crackdown on organisations bent on breaking up the country's Muslim-Croat Federation.

Police and Nato peacekeepers have seized control of a Bosnian bank believed to be used by Croat extremists.