The Liberal Reforming Party (PLR) proposed asking the population about their ethnicity in the census, not only about their citizenship, IPN reports.
According to the authors of the legislative initiative, the current formulation is very restrictive and violates the right to national ethnical and cultural self-identification. Moldova is a specific geopolitical area as regards the demographic composition. All the residents are citizens of Moldova and, thus, they are Moldovans in terms of civic identity. The national/ethnical and cultural identity depends on the wish of every citizen apart their formation degree and the shared scientific and ideological doctrines.
The authors make reference to the European Convention on the Basic Human Rights and Freedoms, which proclaims the right to free thinking, conscience and religion.
The census was to be taken in Moldova on April 1-14. At the request of the National Bureau of Statistics, Parliament will adopt a decision to postpone the referendum to May 12-25.
