(Podgorica, 24. septembar 2012.) Among the 6000 people older than 60, who are still listed as voters (even though they do not exist in last year’s census), the largest number can be found in Ulcinj, Berane, Bar, Plav, Bijelo Polje and Rozaje.
According to census information, in Ulcinj last year there were 3,930 people who were born before 1952 (who were either 60 or older during the census). According to information from the electoral rolls, there are are 4788 registered voters over 60, that is 858 more than are recorded in the census. In Berane there are 700 additional voters, in Bar over 600 and in Plav over 500.
When one considers the total number of older persons, the highest proportional difference is in Ulcinj where there were 22% more individuals older than 60 registered in the electoral rolls than in the census, in Plav there were 21% more, in Savnik there were 14% more, and in Zabljak, Rozaje and Berane, 12%.
Only in four Montenegrin municipalities is the total difference between the number of individuals registered in the census and the number found in the electoral rolls tilted in favour of the census. These municipalities are Danilovgrad (15% less registered voters than individuals on the census), Kotor and Andrijevica (4%) and Kolasin (1%).
The largest discrepancies are to be found when it comes to persons born between 1947 and 1951 (especially in Ulcinj). There are at least 276 more individuals of this age on the electoral rolls in Ulcinj, 207 more in Bar, 202 more in Berane, 180 more in Podgorica, 177 more in Rozaje, and 169 more in Plav.
Among those born between 1942 and 1946, we find 225 more in Podgorica, 233 more in Ulcinj, 156 more in Bar, 118 more in Plav. According to the electoral rolls, Ulcinj and Berane have nearly 100 more people on the electoral rolls who were born between 1937 and 1941 than are registered on the census.
In the category of persons born between 1932 and 1936, there are 155 more in Niksic, 127 more in Berane, 119 in Plevlja, and again 111 more in Ulcinj than we find in the census. The electoral rolls also show that among those born between 1927 and 1931, there are 82 more persons registered in Berane, 76 more in Plav, 71 in Bijelo Polje, and 62 in ulcinj. Plevlja and Berane are ahed also in the category of those born between 1922-1926, with 101 in the former and 94 more registered in the later municipality.
The problem of such discrepancies also affects those born prior to 1921. In Berane alone we found a discrepancy of 76 people in favour of the electoral rolls among the oldest residents, 54 in Bar and noticeable differences in other municipalities as well.
This data once again confirms that there are over 6000 more elderly persons registered in the electoral rolls than exist in the census that was carried out by MONSTAT. Of course, while MANS was preparing this information we also had access to the census carried out last year. We thus compared the information of voters and registered citizens based on their year of birth and not their age. Nevertheless, in spite of the different methodologies used to calculate residents for electoral purposes and for the census, the numbers do speak for themselves (given that logic dictates that the census is more comprehensive than the list of registered voters).
It seems that instead of trying to investigate the source of the discrepancies, MONSTAT is trying to provide an alibi for the government’s problematic electoral rolls (where we find a number of older persons who weren’t among the living last year). We call on the Government to investigate the discrepancy of over 20,000 individuals that MANS uncovered in the electoral rolls and to remove phantom and duplicate voters, instead of wasting time and money in order to manipulate the elections.
We call on all citizens to head to the ballot stations during the elections to observe whether or not the Government of Montenegro is manipulating their personal information and that of already deceased citizens.
