The process of counting the members of the diaspora living abroad cannot be disrupted by enumerating people living in the country, since the system and the comparison of data with databases will detect and annul it, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Tuesday.

“I do not know all the technical details, but what I do know is that after collecting the data, they are compared to eight databases. Afterwards, the data on non-resident citizens i.e., those who have been out of the country for more than a year, will available to the state. All other citizens who have been abroad for less than a year or even 11 months are residents. Although at the moment it is possible to count someone who is out of the country for two months, according to Eurostat and by international standards, he/she is a resident, i.e., does not belong to the group of diaspora or non-resident population,” Zaev told reporters after visiting the public kitchen in Shuto Orizari.

The comparison of the database, Zaev said, gives the details, adding that diaspora is being registered at the moment, i.e., citizens who have been living abroad for more than a year.

There were some reports today in the public that app for members of the diaspora living abroad allowing them to fill in census forms online is also available to the people from North Macedonia, to which the State Statistical Office reacted saying that the census app intended for the diaspora can be accessed only with an IP address from abroad, and that any disruption of the data collection process is punishable under the Law on Census.

“The app can be accessed only with an IP address from abroad. Access from the Republic of North Macedonia is disabled, precisely because the app is intended only for citizens of North Macedonia living abroad. And any disruption of the data collection process is punishable by the Law on Census, i.e., according to Article 49 of the Law on Population Census “A person who destroys, conceals, damages, changes or otherwise makes unusable the entered data in the census application, shall be punished with imprisonment of at least three years,” State Statistical Office said in a press release.

State Statistical Office also said that entering data through VPN service or hidden IP address, i.e., the use of such a tool for entering data in the census is considered contrary to the Law on Census and the Methodology for preparation, organization and implementation of the Census 2021, and may can be sanctioned for refusing to give data or providing false data.