The opposition Alliance for Albanians (AA) and Alternativa coalition said Tuesday they won’t support postponement of the census after it was agreed by Prime Minister and SDSM leader Zoran Zaev and opposition leader VMRO-DPMNE Hristijan Mickoski at a joint meeting.
The leaders of the two opposition parties of the Albanian political bloc, Zijadin Sela and Afrim Gashi said they don’t accept the census, originally slated for April 1, to be postponed for Sept. 5 and announced that their 12 MPs will vote against the changes amending the census law.
“We’ll use all means at our disposal to allow the operation to continue. This form to postpone the census, like Zaev and Mickoski had done, is unacceptable to us. The census should not be politicized, we have to finally know the exact number of the population and to make decisions based on exact statistical data,” Gashi told a news conference Tuesday.
According to Sela, issues should be discussed in Parliament, because there are no effects from meetings, such as yesterday’s talks between Zaev and Mickoski.
“We won’t allow the census to be postponed. We have mechanisms to prevent changing or postponing the census law through the Badinter majority. Arguments in favor of postponing the operation due to the pandemic are not valid, because it is no different than the process of the press conference we are holding now,” he said.
Zaev after the meeting with Mickoski yesterday told reporters that on Wednesday he would meet with officials of the Alliance for Albanians and Alternativa for talks on many issues, including the citizenship law. SDSM, VMRO-DPMNE, DUI and BESA officials have been also invited alongside the ministers of the interior and justice, he said.
“So far, we haven’t received an invitation from Zaev. There have been contacts with our coordinator, but it is not known yet what will be the format and what it will be discussed,” Gashi stated.
Asked whether the opposition coalition in Parliament has been causing blockade, Sela said that their move to file amendments was ‘a consequence, not the reason.’ “The reason why the legislative house is block should be sought elsewhere, in other parliamentary groups, starting in the SDSM group,” he stated.
