View source for Politics of North Macedonia

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{EngvarB|date=March 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{more citations needed| date=August 2020}}
'''Politics in North Macedonia''' occur within the framework of a [[parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[republic]], whereby the [[Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia|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 [[Forms of government|government]] and parliament. The [[Judiciary]] is independent of the executive and the legislature. {{Democracy Index rating|North Macedonia|flawed democracy|2022}}

== Political system ==
[[File:Constituencies of North Macedonia.svg|thumb|North Macedonia's six electoral constituencies|left]]
The political system of North Macedonia consists of three branches: [[Legislative]], [[Executive (government)|Executive]] and [[Judicial]].  The [[Constitution]] is the highest law of the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.constitution.org/cons/macedoni.htm|title=Republic of Macedonia Constitution}}</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">[http://www.izbori98.gov.mk/English/html/political_system.htm Macedonian Political System] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723131023/http://www.izbori98.gov.mk/English/html/political_system.htm |date=23 July 2008 }}</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 ==
{{office-table}}
|[[President of North Macedonia|President]]
|{{center|[[Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova]]}}
|[[VMRO-DPMNE]]
|12 May 2024
|-
|[[Prime Minister of Macedonia|Prime Minister]]
|{{center|[[Hristijan Mickoski]]}}
|[[VMRO-DPMNE]]
|23 June 2024
|}

=== President ===
[[File:Coat of arms of the President of North Macedonia.svg|thumb|100px|Coat of arms of the president of North Macedonia]]
* 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">[http://www.sobranie.mk/en/default.asp?ItemID=9F7452BF44EE814B8DB897C1858B71FF Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928183034/http://www.sobranie.mk/en/default.asp?ItemID=9F7452BF44EE814B8DB897C1858B71FF |date=28 September 2011 }}</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 Coalition|VLEN]], and [[For Our Macedonia|ZNAM]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Close Allies, Fewer Albanians and a Moscow Fan – North Macedonia's Govt Takes Shape |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2024/06/20/close-allies-fewer-albanians-and-a-moscow-fan-north-macedonias-govt-takes-shape/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=20 June 2024}}</ref>
The members of the Cabinet of North Macedonia are chosen by the Prime Minister and approved by the [[Assembly of North Macedonia|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
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Member
! Portfolio
! Macedonio 
|-
| [[Hristijan Mickoski]]
| [[Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia|Prime Minister]]
| 
|-
| [[Izet Mexhiti]]
| Deputy Prime Minister in charge of [[Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning|Environment and Physical Planning]], Minister without Portfolio
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Ljupco Dimovski]]
| Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Framework Agreement Implementation, Political system, Minister without Portfolio
| [[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Ivan Stoilković]]
| Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Community Relations, Minister without Portfolio
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Orhan Murtezani]]
| Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Integration, Minister without Portfolio
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Arben Fetaj]]
| Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Good Governance Policies, Minister without Portfolio
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Aleksandar Nikolovski]]
| Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Transport and Communication
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Timčo Mucunski]]
| Minister of [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Macedonia)|Foreign Affairs]]
|[[File:Logo na MNR.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Vlado Misajlovski]]
| Minister of [[Minister of Defense (Macedonia)|Defense]]
|
|-
| [[Panče Toškovski|Panče Toshkovski]]
| Minister of [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Macedonia)|Internal Affairs]]
|
|-
| [[Gordana Dimitrievska Kočovska]]
| Minister of [[Ministry of Finance (Republic of Macedonia)|Finance]]
|
|-
| [[Igor Filkov]]
| Minister of Justice
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Cvetan Tripunovski]]
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Supply
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Fatmir Levani]]
| Minister of Economy
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Azir Aliu]]
| Minister of Health
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Vesna Janevska]]
| [[Ministry of Education and Science (Macedonia)|Minister of Education and Science]]
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Borko Ristovski]]
| Minister of Sport
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Stefan Andonovski]]
| Minister of Digital Transformation
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Goran Minčev]]
| Minister of Information Society and Administration
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Zlatko Perinski]]
| Minister of Local Self-Government
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Zoran Lyutkov]]
| Minister of Culture
|[[File:Logo na Ministerstvo za kultura.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Gjoko Velkovski]]
| Minister of Labor and Social Policy
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Elvin Hasan]]
| Minister without Portfolio for Attracting foreign investment
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Xhemail Çupi]]
| Minister without Portfolio
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Zoran Sapurić]]
| Minister without Portfolio to improve investment climate for domestic enterprises
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Anita Angelovska-Bežoska]]
| Governor of the [[National Bank of North Macedonia|National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia]]
|
|-
| [[Ljupco Švrgovski]]
| Attorney General
|[[File:Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia - grey.svg|50px]]
|-
| [[Vasko Gjurčinovski]]
|[[Chief of the General Staff (North Macedonia)|Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia]]
|[[File:Logo of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia.svg|50px]]
|}

== Legislative branch ==
{{Main|Assembly of North Macedonia}}
{{Main|List of political parties in North Macedonia}}
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 ==
{{excerpt|2020 North Macedonian parliamentary election|only=paragraphs}}

==2024 election result==
{{main|2024 North Macedonian parliamentary election}}
{{#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 ({{lang|mk|општини}}, {{lang|mk-Latn|opštini}}; [[Grammatical number|singular]]: {{lang|mk|општина}}, {{lang|mk-Latn|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.

== 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 == 
{{Main|Foreign relations of North Macedonia}}
North Macedonia is member of the [[Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique|ACCT]],
[[Bank for International Settlements|BIS]],
[[Council of Europe|CE]],
[[Central European Initiative|CEI]],
[[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council|EAPC]],
[[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development|EBRD]],
[[Economic Commission for Europe|ECE]],
[[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]],
[[International Atomic Energy Agency|IAEA]],
[[World Bank|IBRD]],
[[International Civil Aviation Organization|ICAO]],
[[International Criminal Court|ICCt]],
[[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|ICRM]],
[[International Development Association|IDA]],
[[International Fund for Agricultural Development|IFAD]],
[[International Finance Corporation|IFC]],
[[International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies|IFRCS]],
[[International Labour Organization|ILO]],
[[International Monetary Fund|IMF]],
[[International Maritime Organization|IMO]],
[[Interpol (organization)|Interpol]],
[[International Olympic Committee|IOC]],
[[International Organization for Migration|IOM]],
[[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]],
[[International Telecommunication Union|ITU]],
[[NATO]],
[[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons|OPCW]],
[[Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe|OSCE]],
[[Permanent Court of Arbitration|PCA]],
[[Partnership for Peace|PFP]],
[[United Nations|UN]],
[[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development|UNCTAD]],
[[UNESCO]],
[[United Nations Industrial Development Organization|UNIDO]],
[[Universal Postal Union|UPU]],
[[World Confederation of Labor|WCL]],
[[World Customs Organization|WCO]],
[[World Health Organization|WHO]],
[[World Intellectual Property Organization|WIPO]],
[[World Meteorological Organization|WMO]],
[[World Tourism Organization|WToO]],
[[World Trade Organization|WTrO]]

== See also ==
* [[Electoral units of North Macedonia]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Mattioli |first1=Fabio |title=Dark Finance: Illiquidity and Authoritarianism at the Margins of Europe |date=2020 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-1-5036-1294-5 |language=en}}
{{North Macedonia topics}}
{{Politics of Europe}}

[[Category:Politics of North Macedonia| ]]