Following an intervention from Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski, the Albanian Government corrected its census report, in which the local Macedonians were identified as “Northmacedonians”.

Mucunski met with the Albanian Foreign Minister Igli Hasani and raised this issue, who quickly intervened. Another, greater problem with the census is the dramatic drop in the size of the Macedonian minority, down to just a few thousand people (2,281), with about 8,000 citizens registering as Bulgarians for the first time. This is likely due to the practice of the Bulgarian Government to issue passports that allow working in the EU to Macedonians who would declare their identity as Bulgarian.

We will discuss our approach and strategy on this issue, that is closely followed by the public. Our goal is to protect the rights of the Macedonians in Albania and to maintain strong bilateral ties with our important neighbor, said Mucunski, who is announcing urgent consultation with Ambassador Danco Markovski.

Macedonian organizations in Albania consider the census to have been a “blatant forgery”. Vasil Sterjovski from the MAEI alliance says that “Albanian officials, tied to the ruling party, helped the corrupt process, despite evidence of fraud taking place”. The Macedonian Association Ilinden – Tirana demands a repeat of the census, accusing Bulgarian diplomats of intimidating Macedonian citizens in Albania by publishing their census reports on social media outlets. This was done to threaten citizens who, driven by poverty and lack of opportunities in Albania, have applied for a Bulgarian passport, and were pushed to declare a Bulgarian national identity in the census.

In 11 previous censuses, there was not a single person who declared a Bulgarian national identity, say Macedonian activists Nikola Gjurgjaj and Fatri Fetahu in a joint statement.

Meanwhile Bulgarian Ambassador in Albania Ivajlo Kirov insisted that the this is the first time Albanian authorities allowed for the free self-determination of the Bulgarian minority in Albania.

I want to thank the Albanian Government for creating harmonious conditions to conduct this process, where the citizens were free to decide for themselves. We are very surprised by the results. Albania is the most friendly and hospitable country for Bulgaria in the Balkans, said Kirov, while at an event to organize medical assistance in the city of Kukes.