Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic received the Chairman of the Croat National Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HNS), Dragan Covic, in Zagreb on Tuesday following the general election held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 2 October.

They discussed the need to urgently form a government at all levels and called on all political stakeholders in Bosnia and Herzegovina to launch the necessary reforms so that the country could obtain candidate status for European Union membership, a government press release said.

Also discussed was the current political situation and the need to reach an agreement on further amendments to the election law.

Plenkovic congratulated Covic on the election results of the Croat political parties within the HNS and a convincing victory among the Croat electorate.

He expressed regret that Bosniaks had again used election engineering to outvote Croats and choose Željko Komšic as the Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying that this was undermining the functioning of the country and harmonious relations between their constituent peoples.

Plenkovic said that political stakeholders in Bosnia and Herzegovina should continue post-election talks to ensure equality and legitimate representation for all three constituent peoples at all levels of government.

Plenkovic and Covic welcomed High Representative Christian Schmidt's intervention in the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosniak-Croat entity in the country, and in the election law, saying that it would help ensure legitimate representation of Croats in the upper House of Peoples of the Federation's Parliament. They pointed out that the High Representative's move would contribute to the stability and well-being of Bosnia and Herzegovina and marked the first step in the further process of electoral reform.

Covic expressed his satisfaction with the election results of the HDZ and HNS BiH, saying that the Croats had demonstrated their unity, strength and resilience in challenging circumstances. He warned of the continued usurpation of functions belonging to the Croats as a constituent people under the Constitution, adding that this had happened for the fourth time now with the election of the Croat member of the Presidency.

Covic said that an agreement between political stakeholders on the election law and limited constitutional amendments remained a priority in the coming period of political dialogue and progress on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration.