Politics of North Macedonia
Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:More citations needed 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. Template:Democracy Index rating
Political system
The political system of North Macedonia consists of three branches: Legislative, Executive and Judicial. The Constitution is the highest law of the country.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="Macedonian Political System">Macedonian Political System Template:Webarchive</ref>
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)
Executive branch
Template:Office-table |President |Template:Center |VMRO-DPMNE |12 May 2024 |- |Prime Minister |Template:Center |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<ref name="Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia">Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia Template:Webarchive</ref>
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<ref name="Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia"/>
Current cabinet
The current cabinet is a coalition of VMRO-DPMNE, the VLEN, and ZNAM.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 15 May 2025
| 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 Murtezani | 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 |
|
| Azir Aliu | 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 | 
|
Legislative branch
Template:Main Template:Main The Assembly (Sobranie / Kuvendi) 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.
2020 election result
2024 election result
Template:Main {{#section-h:2024 North Macedonian parliamentary election|Results}}
Judicial branch
Judiciary power is exercised by courts, with the court system being headed by the Judicial Supreme Court, Constitutional Court<ref>See Shasivari, Jeton. Restricted Judicial Activism of the Constitutional Court of Republic of Macedonia Regarding Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms. Acta Universitatis Danubius. Juridica; Galati Vol. 15, Fasc. 1, (2019).</ref> 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.
Administrative divisions
With the passage of a new law and elections held in 2005, local government functions are divided between 78 municipalities (Template:Lang, Template:Lang; singular: Template:Lang, Template:Lang. 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.
Ethnic diversity
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.
Foreign relations
Template:Main 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