Croatia at UNSC: Election of Croat Presidency member welcome, but electoral reform still necessary

Croatian representative Hrvoje Curic-Hrvatinic said the result gave the Croat member a clear democratic mandate from the people she represents, providing legitimacy for her role and strengthening public confidence in institutions.

“This is important for Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and for the functioning of the country as a whole,” he said.

However, he stressed that a single election outcome could not resolve the underlying issue.

“One election cycle cannot substitute for a lasting solution. Electoral reform remains necessary to ensure that each constituent people can freely and effectively elect its own legitimate political representatives at any given time.”

He argued that this was not about favouring a particular candidate or outcome, but about upholding constitutional equality and preventing future disputes over political legitimacy.

Croatia expected genuine dialogue towards an agreed systemic solution, he added.

Opposition to secession and centralisation

Curic-Hrvatinic reaffirmed Croatia’s support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity, constitutional order and international legal personality under the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement.

He described the agreement as the cornerstone of peace, institutional balance and democratic power-sharing.

Its principles, including the equality of Croats, Bosniaks and Serbs as constituent peoples and the rights of all citizens, must be respected in practice, he said.

“The country’s functionality cannot be built by weakening these guarantees, but by making them work effectively for everyone.”

Croatia also opposed policies and rhetoric undermining Dayton and Bosnia’s constitutional order, “whether through secessionist initiatives or attempts at political centralisation that disregard the equality of its constituent peoples”.

Lasting progress required respect for the constitutional settlement, mutual restraint and workable compromises, he said.

Welcoming the successful conduct of the general elections, Curic-Hrvatinic urged political actors to form stable, functional and representative institutions at all levels without unnecessary delay.

The post-election period should also bring renewed momentum to reforms essential to Bosnia’s European path, particularly the rule of law, institutional functionality and electoral legislation.

He welcomed the renewal of EUFOR Althea’s mandate and expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the mission’s helicopter crash, alongside solidarity with the injured.

Croatia would remain a committed advocate of Bosnia’s European future, he concluded, supporting reforms, security, energy diversification and regional connectivity.

“Its European future is not only a national aspiration. It is a shared interest in the stability and prosperity of the entire region.”