Legal scholar and leftist opposition candidate Ivo Josipovic won Croatia's presidential election, upsetting the capital's popular mayor and confirming the country's pro-Western course.

The state-run Electoral Commission said Jan. 11 that Social Democrat Josipovic had garnered 60.29 percent of the vote compared with 39.71 percent for Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic, with 99.6 percent of the votes counted.

Comparing his election to a "victorious symphony," Josipovic — who also is a composer of classical music — said that "every citizen who aims for a better, more just Croatia has won."

Though the presidential role is somewhat limited in Croatia, the vote was seen as a test of whether Croatia would maintain its pro-Western course and fight corruption.

In Croatia, the Cabinet and parliament are the key decision-makers, but the president is the supreme army commander, co-creator of foreign policy, and hires and fires chiefs of the intelligence services.