If the population’s census in 2020 does not take into account the ethnicity of the population, it risks failing as it did in 2011, as well as the possibility of violating the principle of the Ohrid Framework Agreement (OFA) and the Constitution of Macedonia for equitable representation, reports “Portalb.mk”.
Experts have urged political parties to insist on ethnic and religious counts, because if such records are not made, then there will be consequences both from a constitutional and legal aspect, as well as from a social point of view.
“Albanian political parties should insist on ethnic and religious counts in the census, because the census is not just a simple statistical operation, but a process with legal, political, scientific, development, economic, cultural and social implications. Therefore, any other solution from this would pose a risk of failure of the census, just like the process collapsed in 2011”, says university professor of constitutional law, Jeton Shasivari.
However, if we do not have figures of ethnicity in the country, the consequences will also be of a social aspect, says university professor and sociologist Ali Pajaziti.
Although authorities claim that they will find out the ethnicity through the language respondents speak, it is not enough, and according to Pajaziti, a sociological absurdity is that an Albanian qualifies as a person who speaks Albanian, rather than just being Albanian.
“The sociological absurdity is that I qualify as a person who speaks Albanian, not an Albanian. In this case, ethnicity is relative, and on the basis of languages it turns out that I could qualify as an Englishman, a Bosnian, a Turk … It’s madness!” Says Pajaziti.
Under the agreement, this principle will apply in particular in regard to employment in the public administration and public enterprises, as well as access to public financing for the development of business activities.
But the Constitution of Macedonia calls for equitable representation, that is, Amendment VI states that all communities, on all levels should be represented fairly and equally.
522.751.000 denars have been allocated the census, which is over 8.1 million euros.
The last census conducted in Macedonia was in 2002, while in 2011 the process began, but was not realized.
