(4 Dec 2011)
1. Mid of interior of polling station, voter walking over to polling officials
2. Mid of man looking at electoral list
3. Wide of voters inside polling station
4. Various of people voting behind screens
5. Mid of woman dropping her ballot into box
6. Mid of man voting behind screen
7. Close-up of voter dropping ballot into box
8. Mid of woman handing her identification card to officials
9. Close-up of polling registrars checking list for woman's name
10. Pan of woman walking over to screen to vote
11. Mid of woman dropping her ballot into box
12. Mid of another woman dropping her ballot into box
13. SOUNDBITE (Croatian) Mirna Knezevic, voter:
"I hope for the best. Let the best win."
(Q: what do you hope for?)
"A better future."
(Q: do you think it will come now after Sunday?)
"Yes, I believe things are going to get better, for everyone in Croatia."
14. Mid of registrars checking list as man waits to cast his vote
STORYLINE:
Voters in the Croatian capital Zagreb arrived early at polling stations on Sunday to cast their votes in the country's parliamentary elections.
The vote pits the governing Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, against a coalition of centre-left parties who have convincingly led in all recent opinion polls.
The winner is expected to lead Croatia into the European Union when it is set to join the bloc as its 28th member in July 2013.
It will also inherit the country's shattered economy and the increasing social discontent of residents angry at rapidly falling living standards.
Speaking at a local polling station in the capital, one voter said she was optimistic for Croatia's future.
"I believe things are going to get better, for everyone in Croatia," she said.
A poll by the Ipsos Puls agency predicted the opposition coalition will win 79 seats in Croatia's 151-seat parliament, while the ruling party will win 43.
The conservatives led Croatia throughout its 1990s war for independence from the former Yugoslavia and has ruled since, except for the 2001-2003 period when the centre-left coalition took over.
But the conservatives have recently been embroiled in a string of corruption scandals, including alleged involvement in illegal fundraising for previous elections.
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