Around the time of 40 BBY, an official enumeration took place within the Pijal system. The purpose of this count was to determine the number of Pijali people residing on the planet Pijal and its associated moon, both located in the Inner Rim. However, following the census's completion, the Czerka Corporation manipulated the official record of the results. Their aim was to artificially reduce the apparent population of the moon, which would then allow them to shape the Governance Treaty in a way that diminished the moon's representation in government.
In the year 40 BBY, Halin Azucca, the head of the performance group known as the Opposition, brought this tampering to the attention of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, or Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. This occurred during the Jedi pair's mission to the Pijal system. The Jedi substantiated Azucca's assertions by comparing the tampered version of the census data with the original local records housed in the library within the Pijali palace.
During the Republic Era, the Jedi named Rael Averross was dispatched to act as a regent for the planet Pijal, which resided in the Inner Rim. His duty was to govern until Princess Fanry of the Pijali people reached the age where she could take her place on the throne. As Fanry's coronation drew near, Averross collaborated with representatives of the Czerka Corporation on the Governance Treaty. This treaty was designed to transform the Pijali monarchy into a representative government, thereby enabling the newly formed Assembly to jointly inaugurate the Pijal Hyperspace Corridor hyperspace route with the Galactic Republic.
Around 40 BBY, an official census was conducted within the Pijal system to count the residents of Pijal and its moon. This data gathering was essential for the drafting of the Governance Treaty, aiming to establish the appropriate ratios of citizen representatives within the system's new Assembly. Upon completion of the count—which indicated that seventy percent of the system's population was from Pijal and thirty percent was from its moon—the official results, along with copies of the local census records, were securely stored within the library of the royal palace.
Shortly thereafter, officials from Czerka intervened, manipulating the official census results to diminish the population count attributed to Pijal's moon. Consequently, the Governance Treaty was purposefully structured to grant lunar residents less representation than they rightfully deserved, thereby providing further justification for the company's extensive mining activities on the moon. At some point, the falsification of the results was uncovered by Halin Azucca, the leader of the Opposition—a group of performers who had been protesting the Governance Treaty—who had been wrongly accused of orchestrating several attacks throughout the Pijal system. Despite the Opposition's attempts to express their dissatisfaction with the unfair representation of lunar citizens, Averross disregarded their appeals.
During the mission of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi to the Pijal system in 40 BBY, Azucca brought Czerka's attempt to conceal the true population of Pijal's moon to the attention of the Jedi pair. Subsequently, Jinn and Kenobi launched an investigation into Azucca's information, comparing the local census records held in the palace with the manipulated official copy also stored there to confirm the leader's claims. Ultimately, the Jedi exonerated the Opposition and facilitated the establishment of the new Assembly following the bloodshed that occurred at Fanry's coronation, as the Governance Treaty was never ratified.
The census event received a mention in Master & Apprentice, a novel authored by Claudia Gray and published in 2019.