 As the president failed to announce that he will give the mandate to Ivo Sanader, leader of the party with the most seats in the parliament, he was criticised by many for complicating the situation and starting a political crisis.President Mesić responded that he was following article 97 of the Constitution of Croatia.HDZ, together with HSU  and Roma national minority member Nazif Memedi  had 68 of 77 seats required for a majority while SDP, HNS, IDS  and SDA  together had 67 seats.