Skopje, 27 June 2025 (MIA) – Political responsibility over the administration of the 2021 census had contributed to the former coalition going into opposition and it should be looked into whether there are any grounds for criminal liability, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said Friday.

Referring to a response to a question at yesterday’s Q&A Parliament session, he said an electronic census could be conducted based on cross-referencing some dozen data bases and in accordance with Eurostat guidelines.

“We cannot make way for development based on false data. Every government should allow development based on some data. And based on what? Odd things had happened. And now the opposition is telling us what should have been done,” Mickoski responded to a reporters’ question after a working meeting at the Public Revenue Office in Skopje in relation to the prospect of conducting electronic census. 

Regarding the administration of an electronic census and the effect on cutting down the number of councillors in the coming local elections, Mickoski said it is a possibility if any doubts are raised involving the number of the population. 

“Those who used the census methodology shouldn’t have used it despite convincing us that it was European. It turned out it wasn’t,” stated the prime minister. 

According to him, censuses are organized usually at the start of each decade. The next one should be conducted in 2031-2032, Mickoski said noting such process could be organized quickly if there were political will.

“Someone is trying again to take advantage of the feelings of the citizens with political messages although this is a technical process. We’ve been warning about this when we were in opposition and now when we are in the government,” he added. 

Photo/video: MIA