The State Archives displayed original documents from the 1991 independence referendum

The State Archives publicly exhibited for the first time the original ballot paper from the Referendum on Independence of 8 September 1991, the polling stations' records and other documents related to the preparation and conduct of the referendum. The materials were presented by the director of the State Archives, MSc Dimitar Bogeski, in the year the institution is marking its 75th anniversary and the state its 35th year of independence.

The exhibition includes a physical ballot paper, official minutes, correspondence, official acts and reports that document the organization and administrative work around the referendum. As Bogeski said, the archival documents provide the opportunity to trace the process of state formation through concrete legal and political acts.

After the introduction of the multi-party system and the elections in 1990, following the constitution of the first multi-party Assembly came a series of state-forming acts: the Declaration of Sovereignty of 25 January 1991, the Decision to call a referendum of 26 July 1991, the Declaration on the plebiscitarily expressed will of the citizens of 17 September 1991 and the Constitution of 17 November 1991.

Documents as a chronological witness

"When we follow these documents in their chronological order, we get a clear picture of the overall dynamics of the state-building process – from the first political changes and the establishment of the new institutional framework, through the affirmation of sovereignty and the citizens' expression, to the constitutional formation of the independent state," says MSc Dimitar Bogeski.

He emphasizes that, apart from constitutional-legal acts, the archival collections also contain official acts, correspondence, minutes and reports that reflect the day-to-day work of institutions and the practical steps in organizing the referendum. "Through the archival collections we can follow the gradual transformation of political will into concrete state acts," Bogeski says.

"Preserving the original documents from 1991 is a supreme institutional and patriotic responsibility," Bogeski says, adding that they must be permanently protected, professionally processed and accessible to future generations.

On the occasion of 35 years of independence, the exhibition "Archival Documents – Pillar of Macedonian Identity" will also be presented at the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb. The display includes documents from the long state-forming process — from the Razlovec Uprising in 1876, through Ilinden and ASNOM, to the 1991 referendum on independence.

Photo: State Archives