The census fiasco in Greece

The results of the general national census have not yet been announced, as the process was thwarted on the basis of “inaccurate data”. The accounting process that took place at the end of 2021 seems to have ended in an absolute fiasco on a “state scale”.

April is just around the corner, and the results of the process, which began in the last quarter of last year, despite the delay, have not yet been announced due to obvious problems identified.

The implications for the country will be dramatic given that a number of future decisions on household demographic, social, educational and economic data, as well as on the number of homes and other qualitative data will be based on incorrect information! Influence on the formation of the electoral map and the determination of seats in the parliament of each district, among other things, is considered decisive, writes newsbreak.gr.

A comparative examination of the electoral rolls between 2011, when the previous census was conducted, and the 2019 elections already confirms significant changes, since, among others, Kastoria, Thesprotia and Chios are to be added to the single-member constituencies. By the same logic, the constituencies of A’ Athens, out of 14 seats in parliament, would be deprived of one, as well as Magnesia and A’ Piraeus, as well as Kozani, Phthiotis, Laconia and Arta.

Most of the lost sites are estimated to be in East Attica and the once vast Athens II, now divided into sectors.

Election annulment statement

Is it possible to support the application to cancel the upcoming elections to the Supreme Court if they are held according to the old 2011 census? The answer is yes!

However, at the suggestion of George Papadimitriou, professor and legal adviser to the then Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, this danger was averted by the addition of a clause to article 54 of the constitution, according to which “the number of deputies in each constituency is determined by presidential decree, based on legal population of constituencycompiled according to data of the last census of the population registered in the relevant municipal registers in the manner prescribed by law. The results of the census are considered published on the basis of the data of the competent service after one year from the last day of its conduct.

This does not mean that other dramatic side effects have been eliminated, as the lack of official data catalyzes the determination of objective values: ENFIA charges, the way social and educational policies are implemented, financial programs and funds available in municipalities.

Complaint

The parliamentary group KIN.AL, headed by secretary Evangelia Lyakuli, sent a request to the authorities. The document complained that in many areas, even in Athens, refusal of residents from the census exceeded 50% (although this was due to the movement of the unvaccinated, the anti-vaxxers), as a result of which the statistical office of ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ threatened the census workers (enumerators) that if they did not fill out the questionnaires, they would not be paid!

As you understand, the situation has neither beginning nor end, while it is not known how much this process cost the taxpayers, which is stereotypically repeated every decade and, therefore, did not become “unexpected”.

The “seriousness” of the questionnaire was, of course, dramatic. The survey included questions about, for example, family members with mobility issues, working conditions and internet access. But the key question was “do you have a bath or shower”? And laughter, and sin.

Source link