The first digital population census begins in Croatia on Monday

The first digital population census will begin in Croatia on Monday, during which citizens will be able to register independently, the State Bureau of Statistics announced today.

In the first phase of enumeration, from September 13 to 26, citizens will be able to self-enumerate through the e-Citizens system, while in the second phase, from September 27 to October 17, enumerators will go to the field.

Citizens can choose the method of enumeration. During the first phase, citizens will be able to register their household and all its members. After completing the questionnaire through the e-Citizens system, the e-respondent will receive a unique control code that will be proof of a successful self-enumeration. They will show the code to the enumerator during field enumeration.

The rule for e-enumeration is that one household is signed with one electronic certificate.

According to the Law on Official Statistics, all data collected in the population census are confidential and will be used for statistical purposes.

The results of the census are also important for national minorities, because some of their rights are exercised based on the number determined in the population census. The campaign of representatives of the Serbian national minority "Be e-Srbin" is ongoing, within which the importance of the census is pointed out. In the parts of Croatia where Serbs live in significant numbers, numerous billboards with the message "Don't be just a Serb, be an e-Serb" were placed, and a television spot was also shown.

The campaign was launched by the Serbian National Council, the Serbian Democratic Forum, the Serbian Cultural Society "Prosveta" and the Joint Council of Municipalities. They invite Serbs to take advantage of the electronic self-enumeration of their household and its members. On the website www. e-srbin.hr has published detailed instructions for self-enumeration, as well as the rights of minorities that are exercised thanks to their numbers.

Thus, it is recalled that the Constitutional Law stipulates that members of national minorities, who make up more than 1,5 percent of the total population, are guaranteed at least one and at most three parliamentary seats.

It is stipulated that members of national minorities in municipalities and cities where they participate in the population from five to 15 percent have the right to one councilor, and if they participate with more than 15 percent and in counties with more than five percent, they have the right to proportional representation in representative bodies . If this is not achieved, by-elections are called.

Where there is a third or more of them, they exercise, among other things, the right to official use of the language and script of the minority.