Croatian parliament dissolves to pave way for parliamentary election later this year

ZAGREB, Croatia — Croatia's parliament was dissolved on Thursday to pave the way for a parliamentary election later this year.

All 143 of a total of 151 lawmakers who were present at the session voted in favor of the move.

The date of the election is yet to be set. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has suggested it should be held before the vote for the European Parliament, which will be held on June 6-9.

The upcoming vote in Croatia will pit ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union against a group of center and left-leaning parties who have announced they will run in a coalition.

Plenkovic and his HDZ party have faced mounting accusations of high-level corruption from the opposition ahead of the ballot. He has denied the claims.

Croatia is slated to hold a presidential election as well by the end of the year.

Plenkovic's HDZ largely has held power since Croatia gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

The Adriatic Sea nation became the newest member of the European Union in 2013 and joined Europe's free-travel and euro zones last year.