Macedonian Census Commission Resigns

This is a culmination of a muddle between ethnic Macedonian and Albanian members inside the commission who could not agree on some of the basic rules of the census.

In a media statement issued on early Tuesday, the commission said that it is suspending all of its activities because “there are no basic preconditions for continuation of the census”, as it “cannot provide relevant data”.

The response of the government is not clear yet but due to the extraordinary situation, it is expected to hold an emergency session. The government may appoint new members of the commission and may propose urgent changes to the law that would prolong the census after the October 15 deadline.
 
The resignations come just one day after the Census Commission on Monday admitted to serious problems on the ground, where more than one quarter of census-takers still had not started collecting data.

Some Albanian members are thought to have counted people who had been living abroad for more than a year, as well as accepting photocopies of ID cards as a basis for data. Macedonian members were strongly against this.

According to the EUROSTAT rules, which Macedonia aims to adhere to, individuals who have lived abroad for more than a year may not be included in the census because they are being accounted for in the countries where they live.

During the whole process, slated from October 1-15, some ethnic Albanian parties and NGO’s have been accusing the Macedonian majority in the commission of trying to portray lower number of Albanians in the country, while ethnic Macedonian organizations and parties say Albanians are attempting to artificially increase their numbers by including emigree members.

Macedonia’s last population census took place in 2002, one year after the signing of the 2001 Ohrid Peace Accord, which ended a short-lived armed conflict in the country between ethnic Albanian insurgents and the security forces.

The results of the census showed that 64 per cent of the population was Macedonian and 25 per cent were ethnic Albanian. Roma, Turks, Serbs and other minorities made up the remainder of the population.