Gogic: Self-Determination will try to challenge the guaranteed rights of Serbs through the census results

Political scientist Ognjen Gogic assesses that the authorities in Pristina will try in every possible way to use the results of the population census and the boycott to challenge the guaranteed rights of the Serbian community.

"Self-Determination, the ruling party in Kosovo, uses every opportunity, every pretext to question the rights guaranteed to Serbs in Kosovo. And it's not that they won't try to use the results of this census to once again challenge some of those guarantees, but those guarantees are so complicated to change that this is what prevents them," Gogic said for Kosovo Online.

He explains that the constitutional system of Kosovo is "locked" regarding any changes to the rights enjoyed by Serbs because amendments require their consent.

"In this respect, Self-Determination's hands are tied to some extent. Otherwise, they would gladly take the census results and say - far fewer Serbs live in Kosovo, and therefore, there are no conditions for them to enjoy the rights they currently have. But fortunately for the Serbs, they cannot do this," Gogic points out.

He warns that the problem with the population census was not only due to the Serb boycott but also because many were unable to be counted.

"One can talk more about the boycott in the north of Kosovo, but even in the north and in areas south of the Ibar, citizens indicated that they did not have the opportunity to be counted. And this is what remained unaddressed. Sufficient effort was not made to ensure that people had the right to be counted and to obtain a realistic picture," Gogic warns.

He adds that there will still be concrete consequences from the Serb boycott, primarily in the form of reduced budget funds for the four predominantly Serb municipalities in the north.

"In fact, this will be a direct consequence of this census. This is what Kurti and the central authorities in Kosovo are enabled to do, to further pressure the northern municipalities and, in light of the census results, which for them are the only relevant factor, actually reduce these budget transfers to the northern municipalities, and probably to implement other restrictive administrative measures towards the northern municipalities, citing the census results which show that very few people live in northern Kosovo," Gogic believes.

He adds that, on the other hand, the census results will not affect the rights of the Serbian community, as evidenced by the 2011 census boycott.

"We should recall that the Serbs boycotted the census in 2011, and in a higher percentage. Back then, the majority of Serbs from both the north and south boycotted it. This generally did not have much impact on the enjoyment of the constitutionally and legally guaranteed rights that the Serbian community has. These rights exist regardless of the actual number of Serbs living in Kosovo. The biggest problem with the previous census was that the number of inhabitants living in the municipalities was determined based on it, so the municipalities with a Serbian majority did not have a realistic number of inhabitants, and this was reflected in the budget funds they received, the transfers from the central budget," Gogic recalls.