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Politics in North Macedonia occur within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated North Macedonia a "flawed democracy" in 2022.[1][needs update]
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020) |
The political system of North Macedonia consists of three branches: Legislative, Executive and Judicial. The Constitution is the highest law of the country.[2] The political institutions are constituted by the will of its citizens by secret ballot at direct and general elections. Its political system of parliamentary democracy was established with the Constitution of 1991, which stipulates the basic principles of democracy and guarantees democratic civil freedom. The Elections for Representatives in the Assembly of North Macedonia is held in October. The Assembly is composed of 123 Representatives, who are elected for a period of four years. Out of this number, 120 are elected proportionally in 6 constituencies of 20 each, and 3 according to the majority principle, specifically for the diaspora (depending on turnout) (the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia representing one constituency). There are approximately 1.5 million voters registered in the General Electoral Roll for the election of Representatives in the Assembly of North Macedonia in 2.973 polling stations. The voting for the representatives is conducted according to the list system.[3]
Presidents
- Kiro Gligorov (1991–1999)
- Boris Trajkovski (1999–2004)
- Branko Crvenkovski (2004–2009)
- Gjorge Ivanov (2009–2019)
- Stevo Pendarovski (2019–2024)
- Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova (2024–present)
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | VMRO-DPMNE | 12 May 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | VMRO-DPMNE | 23 June 2024 |
President
- cannot hold any other public office or position in a political party
- is elected for a 5-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms
- is Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and President of the Security Council
- nominates a candidate from the majority party or parties in the Assembly who then proposes the Government who are elected by the Assembly
- makes diplomatic appointments and some judicial and Security Council appointments
- grants decorations, honours and pardons[4]
Government
The power of the president is fairly limited with all other executive power being vested in what the Constitution describes as the government, i.e., the prime minister and ministers.
Ministers:
- cannot be Representatives in the Assembly
- cannot hold any other public office or follow a profession while in office
- are elected by a majority vote in the Assembly
- are granted legal immunity
- cannot be called for service in the Armed Forces
- propose laws, budget and regulations to be adopted by the Assembly
- control diplomatic policy
- make other state appointments[4]
Current cabinet
The current cabinet is a coalition of VMRO-DPMNE, the VLEN, and ZNAM.[5] The members of the Cabinet of North Macedonia are chosen by the Prime Minister and approved by the Assembly, however certain cabinet level positions are chosen by both President and Prime Minister, and approved by the Assembly.
Current government as of 23 June 2024
| Member | Portfolio | Macedonio |
|---|---|---|
| Hristijan Mickoski | Prime Minister | |
| Izet Mexhiti | Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Environment and Physical Planning, Minister without Portfolio |  |
| Ljupco Dimovski | Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Framework Agreement Implementation, Political system, Minister without Portfolio | |
| Ivan Stoilković | Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Community Relations, Minister without Portfolio | |
| Orhan Murtenzai | Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Integration, Minister without Portfolio | |
| Arben Fetaj | Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Good Governance Policies, Minister without Portfolio | |
| Aleksandar Nikolovski | Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Transport and Communication | |
| Timčo Mucunski | Minister of Foreign Affairs |  |
| Vlado Misajlovski | Minister of Defense | |
| Panče Toshkovski | Minister of Internal Affairs | |
| Gordana Dimitrievska Kočovska | Minister of Finance | |
| Igor Filkov | Minister of Justice | |
| Cvetan Tripunovski | Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Supply | |
| Fatmir Levani | Minister of Economy | |
| Arben Taravari | Minister of Health | |
| Vesna Janevska | Minister of Education and Science | |
| Borko Ristovski | Minister of Sport | |
| Stefan Andonovski | Minister of Digital Transformation | |
| Goran Minčev | Minister of Information Society and Administration | |
| Zlatko Perinski | Minister of Local Self-Government | |
| Zoran Lyutkov | Minister of Culture |  |
| Gjoko Velkovski | Minister of Labor and Social Policy | |
| Elvin Hasan | Minister without Portfolio for Attracting foreign investment | |
| Xhemail Çupi | Minister without Portfolio | |
| Zoran Sapurić | Minister without Portfolio to improve investment climate for domestic enterprises | |
| Anita Angelovska-Bežoska | Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia | |
| Ljupco Švrgovski | Attorney General | |
| Vasko Gjurčinovski | Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia |  |
The Assembly (Sobranie) has 120 members, elected for a four-year term, by proportional representation. There are between 120 and 140 seats, currently there are 120; members are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed list proportional representation vote. There is a possibility of three people being directly elected in diaspora constituencies by a simple majority vote provided there is sufficient voter turnout.
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All 120 seats in the Assembly 61 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 52.02% ( 14.77pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
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Early parliamentary elections were held in North Macedonia on 15 July 2020.[6] It was originally scheduled for November 2020, but Prime Minister Zoran Zaev called early elections after the European Council failed to come to an agreement on starting talks with North Macedonia on joining the European Union in October 2019. The election date was set for 12 April, but was postponed until July due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia.[7]
The election resulted in a landslide victory for the national conservative VMRO-DPMNE and its Your Macedonia coalition, winning 58 seats in the Sobranie, just three shy of an outright majority. Their main rivals, the incumbent pro-European SDSM and its For a European Future coalition, ended up in distant third place, winning 18 seats, their worst ever result. All other parties and coalitions that won seats include: the European Front coalition with 18 seats and the VLEN Coalition with 14 seats (both representing national minorities), the left-wing nationalist The Left with six seats, as well as the left-wing populist For Our Macedonia Movement (ZNAM) with six seats.[8] Turnout was 55%. While initially allocated 19 and 13 seats respectively, following repollings in Ohrid, Struga and other areas on 22 May 2024 led to the European Front losing one seat in favor of the VLEN coalition allowing SDSM and its For a European Future coalition to become the second biggest group in the Assembly.[9]
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Your Macedonia[a][b] | 436,407 | 44.58 | 58 | +14 | |
| For a European Future[c][d] | 154,447 | 15.78 | 18 | –28 | |
| European Front[e][f] | 137,690 | 14.06 | 18 | +3 | |
| VLEN Coalition[g][h] | 106,937 | 10.92 | 14 | +2 | |
| The Left | 68,637 | 7.01 | 6 | +4 | |
| For Our Macedonia | 56,232 | 5.74 | 6 | New | |
| Brave for Macedonia[i] | 4,522 | 0.46 | 0 | –1 | |
| New Alternative | 3,515 | 0.36 | 0 | 0 | |
| Abaja | 2,908 | 0.30 | 0 | New | |
| Your Party | 1,794 | 0.18 | 0 | 0 | |
| United Macedonia | 1,688 | 0.17 | 0 | New | |
| Homeland Macedonia | 1,099 | 0.11 | 0 | New | |
| Macedonian Era Third – Sovereignists | 966 | 0.10 | 0 | New | |
| Democrats Skopje | 912 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | |
| The Right | 535 | 0.05 | 0 | New | |
| Labour Party | 450 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 | |
| European Civic Movement | 241 | 0.02 | 0 | New | |
| Total | 978,980 | 100.00 | 120 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 978,980 | 97.27 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 27,451 | 2.73 | |||
| Total votes | 1,006,431 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,815,350 | 55.44 | |||
| Source: SEC | |||||
Judiciary power is exercised by courts, with the court system being headed by the Judicial Supreme Court, Constitutional Court[10] and the Republican Judicial Council. The assembly appoints the judges, of which there are 22 in the Supreme Court, and 9 in the Constitutional Court. Supreme Court judges nominated by the Judicial Council, a 7-member body of legal professionals, and appointed by the Assembly; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the Assembly for nonrenewable, 9-year terms
With the passage of a new law and elections held in 2005, local government functions are divided between 78 municipalities (општини, opštini; singular: општина, opština. The capital, Skopje, is governed as a group of ten municipalities collectively referred to as "the City of Skopje". Municipalities in North Macedonia are units of local self-government. Neighbouring municipalities may establish cooperative arrangements.
The country's main political divergence is between the largely ethnically based political parties representing the country's Macedonian majority and Albanian minority. The issue of the power balance between the two communities led to a brief war in 2001, following which a power-sharing agreement was reached. In August 2004, the Republic's parliament passed legislation redrawing local boundaries and giving greater local autonomy to ethnic Albanians in areas where they predominate.
North Macedonia is member of the ACCT, BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NATO, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Most notable relations with other countries include: Greece, China the US and Kosovo amongst others.
Greece
North Macedonia and Greece have excellent economic, trade and business relations, with Greece being the largest investor in the country[citation needed]. Until the Prespa Agreement (2018), the indeterminate status of North Macedonia's former name arose from a long-running dispute with Greece. The main points of the dispute were: The flag: the use of Vergina Sun, a Greek state symbol[citation needed], on the initial national flag used between 1992 and 1995 Constitutional issues: certain articles of the constitution that were seen as claims on Greek territory[citation needed]. The naming issue was "parked" in a compromise agreed at the United Nations in 1993. However, Greece refused to grant diplomatic recognition to the Republic and imposed an economic blockade that lasted until the flag and constitutional issues were resolved in 1995 with the Interim Accord. The naming dispute was resolved with the Prespa Agreement, which was signed in 2018 and entered into force in February 2019.
United States
The United States and North Macedonia enjoy excellent bilateral relations.[11] The United States formally recognised North Macedonia on 8 February 1994, and the two countries established full diplomatic relations on 13 September 1995. The U.S. Liaison Office was upgraded to an embassy in February 1996, and the first U.S. Ambassador to Skopje arrived in July 1996. The development of political relations between the United States and North Macedonia has ushered in a whole host of other contacts between the two states. In 2004, the United States recognised the country under its constitutional name of that time – Republic of Macedonia.
China
On 12 October 1993, the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) established diplomatic relations with North Macedonia expressly declaring that the Government of the PRC is the sole legal government of China, and Taiwan as an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. The Government of North Macedonia affirmed it would not establish any form of official relations with Taiwan.[12]
- Consists of VMRO-DPMNE, Socialist Party of Macedonia (SPM), Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia (DPSM), Democratic Union (DS), MAAK – Conservative Party (MAAK), Movement for the National Unity of the Turkish (DNET), Serbian Progressive Party in Macedonia (SNSM), Bosniak People's Party (BNP), Democratic Forces of the Roma (DSR), Party of United Democrats of Macedonia (PODEM), Roma Alliance of Macedonia (ROM), Party of the Vlachs of Macedonia (PVM), VOICE for Macedonia (GLAS), New Liberal Party (NLP), Social Democratic Union (SDU), Democratic Party of the Roma (DPR), Workers’ Agricultural Party of Macedonia (RZPRM), United Party for Roma Equality (OPER), Dignity, Permanent Macedonian Radical Unification (TMRO), United for Macedonia and Macedonian Concept (MK).
- 55 seats won by VMRO-DPMNE, 2 by SPM and 1 by DPSM.
- Consists of Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), New Social Democratic Party (NSDP), VMRO – People's Party (VMRO–NP), Party for the Movement of Turks (PDT), Democratic Renewal of Macedonia (DOM), Party of United Pensioners and Citizens of Macedonia (POPGM), Serbian Party in Macedonia (SSM), Democratic Union of the Vlachs of Macedonia (DSVM), Union of Roma in Macedonia (SRM), Party of Democratic Action of Macedonia (SDAM), Right (Desnica), Party for the Democratic Prosperity of the Roma (PDPR) and Party for Social and Economic Progress (POEN).
- Consists of Democratic Union for Integration (BDI), Alliance for Albanians (ASH) (Sela's - led), Democratic Party of Albanians (PDSH), Democratic European Party (EDP), People's Movement (LP), Democratic Party of Turks (TDP), Movement of Turks for Justice and Democracy (THDH), Roma Union (UR) and Bosniak Democratic Union (BDS).
- Consists of Democratic Movement (LD), Alternativa (AAA), Alliance for Albanians (ASH) (Taravari's - led) and Besa Movement (BESA).
- Consists of Citizen Option for Macedonia (GROM), Party for the Full Emancipation of the Roma of Macedonia (PCERM) and Integra - Macedonian Conservative Party (Integra)
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