The Croatian Constitution is clear and the mandate to form the new government can only be given to those who can prove the support of 76 elected MPs, President Zoran Milanovic said on Thursday, noting that he would abide by the spirit and letter of the constitution.

“The Croatian Constitution is clear: only the person who can prove that he has the support of 76 elected MPs can be given the mandate to form the new government. The talks on the formation of the new parliamentary majority are underway and everyone who participates in them must take into account the will of the Croatian voters expressed in the election. As in previous situations, I will fully abide by the letter and spirit of the Croatian Constitution in this situation as well,” Milanovic said in a Facebook post, his first public statement after the election.

He thanked everyone who went to the polls. “By deciding to hold the election on a Wednesday, 17 April, I wanted to encourage you to go to the polls in as many numbers as possible, because I was and am of the opinion that the decision on the future of our homeland must be made by all of you,” Milanovic wrote.

The high voter turnout (more than 62%) confirms that Croatians love their country, believe in it and want change, he said.

“The parties that strongly supported the fight against corruption, that do not want Croatia to sink into corruption, crime and inequality before the law, have received two thirds of your votes. Your votes bind them. You have the right to expect and demand from them – as well as from all of us, the elected representatives – that they keep their word. If this is not the case, we cease to be a democratic society and politics is reduced to compromises and to pursuing only one’s own interests,” said Milanovic.