It is not certain whether the population census in Montenegro will be held this year, which the Democratic Front is insisting on, once again threatening to topple the Government. She will determine the bill on the census only after the summer vacation, at the end of August, after which there will be a discussion and vote in the Assembly, which is being selectively boycotted by DF and DPS.
The draft law on the census will be on the agenda of the Government session on August 26, and on the earlier agenda of the cabinet Zdravka Krivokapića it was planned for the last quarter. Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic two days ago he stated that it is unlikely that the declaration is expected this year.
According to the data from the Monstat website, they have completed most of their work, and the documents give the impression that the statement is being prepared in accordance with the European Union regulations, which do not include exactly what DF insists on - focusing on the national statement.
This was previously confirmed by the head of the DF club Slaven Radunović recalling in a statement to the media that the 2022 census is impossible because it is the year of elections in 12 municipalities, which is unacceptable according to EU and United Nations standards.
"...If the census is postponed to 2023, according to EU regulations, it will be a registration census, which means that there will be no data collection through questionnaires and that it will not be possible to include 'three questions', which is the main goal of the former regime. According to the stated facts, it is necessary to carry out the census from November 1 to 15, 2021," said Radunović.
MPs of the DF have repeatedly pointed out that after the census it will be seen how many Serbs there are in Montenegro, that is, that the majority of citizens declare their nationality in that way.
On the Monstat website, it is written that the legal basis for conducting the census is the Law on the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings, which is adopted immediately before the start of the census.
"The Directorate for Statistics has prepared a draft of the Law on the Census in 2021, while the public debate and proposal of the law is under the competence of the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare, as the proposer of the law," it says on the Monstat website.
The public is not aware of whether the Ministry conducted a public debate on the Draft Law.
According to documents published on the Monstat website, representatives of that institution requested a meeting with representatives of the Ministry on December 9 in order to get acquainted with the results achieved in the preparation of the census and further obligations, as well as to "determine the further dynamics of action".
It was also stated that the EU recommended a register census, which is a method of collecting data on census units (persons, households and apartments) on the basis of available registers maintained by state administration bodies.
Until now, in Montenegro, the census has been carried out according to the traditional method, which involves collecting data by direct visits, that is, from "door to door".
The conclusions of the Government of March 1, 2018 defined the main prerequisites that should be met for the implementation of the recommended registration list. These are the creation of an address register with georeferenced addresses, amendments to the legislation to provide the Directorate for Statistics with the right of access to all administrative data sources with identifiers, amendments to the Law on Official Statistics and the Official Statistical System (adopted in August 2019).
Amendments to the Law on the Central Population Register and the Law on the Protection of Personal Data were also initiated, in order to provide the Directorate for Statistics with the right of access to all administrative data sources with identifiers.
"When it comes to the address register, the Real Estate Administration is testing a software solution. Local self-governments will be obliged, with the help of the Real Estate Administration, to enter data. The availability of personnel structure and hardware equipment in local self-governments will greatly influence the speed of implementation of the address register, and the situation caused by covid should certainly be taken into account", according to Monstat's reports.
Through cooperation with UNDP, it was added, the possibility of using administrative data sources was analyzed, including those registers that would be a source of data for the population census.
The conclusions of the analysis carried out by international and local experts are that there is a good basis for the production of data from administrative registers, but that it is necessary to update certain variables/fields in a number of registers, as well as to include new variables in cooperation with Monstat existing databases of other state institutions.
"A key challenge for the implementation of the register census of the population, households and apartments is the lack of a register of house numbers and addresses (address register), which is under the jurisdiction of the Administration for Cadastre and State Property and 24 local self-government units," states the UNDP analysis of seven administrative registers.
The Central Population Register (Ministry of Internal Affairs), the Register of Economic Entities (Tax Administration), Taxpayers (Tax Administration), the number of children in education (Ministry of Education), criminal records (Ministry of Justice), employment (Tax Administration) and the Cadastral Register were analyzed. (Real Estate Administration).
In the Government's report on the fulfillment of obligations towards the EU from June of this year, it is stated that the EU expert who participated in the drafting of the draft law on the census gave a positive opinion that the law is in accordance with the recommendations of the EU.
In Montenegro, citizens declare their national and religious affiliation, as well as their language.
Eurostat, which monitored the census in Montenegro in 2011, previously told "Vijesta" that their regulations are different, but that states can have their own.
"Ethnicity, religion and language can be sensitive issues in many countries. Indeed, in some EU member states, the collection of statistical data broken down by ethnicity or religion is illegal," Eurostat replied to the question whether the census in EU member states includes the collection of data on religion, nation and language.
Member of the SDP Rasko Konjević yesterday he published a copy of the email from which it can be seen that they are from the prime minister's office today They sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare in which they request "to undertake the necessary activities for implementation".
It is explained that the Government session will be held on August 26, for which the adoption of the Draft Law on Census is planned.
In the opposition DPS, they assessed it as a move under pressure from the DF and the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC).
"Under pressure from the DF and the SPC, and in fear of potential loss of office, (Dritan) Abazović and Krivokapić managed to deny themselves within 24 hours," the DPS announcement states.
On Tuesday, Krivokapić told Television Pljevlja that the population census will be difficult to hold this year because, as he pointed out, it requires a lot of preparation. And Abazović confirmed it a day later, stating that there are no technical conditions for it.
One of the leaders of the DF Andrija Mandic he said yesterday that this political alliance would rather replace the Government than allow the population census not to be held.
He said that according to the law, the census should be held this year and that the budget funds have been provided for that purpose.
"Someone wants to avoid the census, in order not to get relevant data and not to hold the first free census since 1945," Mandic said, according to Belgrade media.
On Thursday, the DF invited Krivokapić to propose the Law on the Census and said that the deputies of that political alliance will come to the Assembly to vote for that act.
The last population census in Montenegro was conducted in April 2011, and the Parliament adopted the Census Law in July 2010.
Teacher Djordje Blažić claims that the census of citizens must be held this year, because it is a legal obligation.
He said that there is no discussion about it because the Law binds everyone, including the government.
"The fact that you did not provide the conditions for the census is your problem and your disorganization, but the law must be implemented or you change the law, so set new deadlines by law," wrote Blažić on Facebook.
He stated that the census is not just statistical data, but is directly related to the realization of the constitutional rights of minority peoples and minority national communities and their proportional representation in the Parliament of Montenegro, local self-government assemblies, but also in public services, state and local self-government bodies.
"If there is no population census, then it is not possible to implement the provisions of the Constitution, as well as the Law on Minority Rights, and thus not to provide the constitutional guarantee of identity protection and special minority rights from the Constitution," said Blažić.
He said that someone has an obviously wrong - only statistical perception of the institute of the population census, which is much more complex than "counting" the population and concerns minority rights and freedoms guaranteed not only by the Constitution of Montenegro, but also by other international acts ratified by Montenegro and which have supremacy , i.e. stronger legal force than the legal acts of Montenegro.
Konjević: They don't ask Abazović anything URA: A machine for spreading falsehoods
SDP MP Raško Konjević wrote on Twitter, commenting on Abazović's statement that the census can hardly be organized by the end of the year, that "no one is asking him anything".
"No one really asks him anything. It serves only as a 'cover' for the interests of SPC and DF. For the umpteenth time, he misleads the Montenegrin public for other people's interests. He does not know what is happening in the security services, and even less in the Government," said Konjević.
The GP URA responded, stating that "Konjević knew about the robbery of Montenegro while he held various positions in the government of the former autocrat Đukanović, so the question arises whether he might have been asked about it when he went to the briefing with his boss with his head down." .
"One thing is certain: today, MP Raško Konjević serves the same boss as a machine for spreading falsehoods, disinformation and spin. Is there anyone who can explain to him that the Law on the Census and the census are not the same?", stated in the announcement of the GP URA.
Corona postponed censuses in the region
This year's population census was supposed to be held in Serbia and North Macedonia in April, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus.
The Parliament of Serbia adopted amendments to the Law on the Census of Population, Households and Apartments, which postpones the census to October 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In North Macedonia, the census will be held in September this year.
Due to the pandemic, in Great Britain and some EU member states the census was conducted electronically this year.
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