ASK again announces that population registration can be postponed, government scomputer

The census of Kosovo's population could be postponed again unless the necessary licenses are secured for this process. From the Statistics Agency, they have announced to Radio Kosovo that providing materials for this process has taken over the Government of Kosovo, so that the census can begin on November 1st. But the government has not yet returned answers. The challenge remains the census of the Serb community living in Kosovo.

The census, which should begin in September this year, was postponed by the Government of Kosovo for 1 November. However, such registration may be postponed again if the materials necessary are not provided for the process. The senior public communication official at the Kosovo Statistics Agency, Hazbije Qrerici, told Radio Kosovo that they are working for the registration process, but the main challenge remains to secure the tablets through which this census will take place. She made it known that if the tablets cannot be secured within the deadline, then the population registration process could be postponed.

The “of course it should be postponed, because in other ways we don't have time. In contrast to 2011, where the recording was conducted in paper, this time we're planning the recording to be carried out via electronic app tablet. So, we don't have the comfort to keep going in other ways”, Qariqi said.

She announced that they have had numerous meetings with the government and other relevant institutions, which have taken over to secure the tablets through tender procedures. She said the Statistics Agency had signed a contract in August with a company that would bring in the tablets in September, but that has failed after the company has failed to meet the set criteria. Therefore, contracts have been cut and the government has been engaged to secure the licenses in time. Radio Kosovo has asked the government for answers on whether it has managed to secure the keys so that the population registration process begins on November 1st, but has not received answers.

For the population registration process, the census remains the challenge of the Serb community, for which, Qrerici indicated it would come up very soon with a sensational campaign.

Kosovo's Statistics Agency also prepares for the territory of northern Kosovo, where we think we can cover the entire territory of Kosovo, and certainly the sensationalisation campaign will include that part. The important thing is that with the formation of the Central Commission by the Government of Kosovo, they have created municipal commissions, which at first could only 34 municipalities form commissions. While, recently, with the arrival of new mayors in municipalities in the north, municipal commissions have been formed for that part with Serb communities”, she said.

Preparations for the registration process have had other challenges. The communications official, Hazbije Qariqi, said the competition for recorders and supervisors has been closed, while the number of candidates that have applied for the recorder, which should be about 3 thousand and 500, has not been completed, as there are not enough candidates. The number has been completed for overseers.

The latest census in Kosovo was conducted in 2011, where the total number of residents in Kosovo is estimated to be around 1.8 million. Not included were residents of Serb majority municipalities in northern Kosovo after they had rejected the process. /rtklives/