North Macedonia
North Macedonia (previously the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) performs in the mid-range across all four categories of democracy in the Global State of Democracy framework. Over the past five years, it has made significant gains in Elected Government; however, it has experienced notable drops in Access to Justice mostly due to judicial corruption and bribery. North Macedonia is an upper-middle-income country, and key economic sectors include textiles, agriculture, and manufacturing.
The area of modern North Macedonia was first settled by Slavic tribes in the 6th century. After centuries of conflict between the Bulgarian, Byzantine, and Serbian Empires, it became part of the Ottoman Empire for over 500 years. Following the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), it came under Serbian control and during World War I and II, the territory switched between Bulgarian and Serbian rule, before becoming a constituent state of communist Yugoslavia in 1945. The country gained independence in 1991 when it declared secession from Yugoslavia. Ever since, electoral politics have largely unfolded as a contest between the center-left Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) and the nationalist, center-right VMRO-DPMNE. A wiretapping scandal in 2015 implicated the government in unlawful activities and led to VMRO-DPMNE losing power in 2017 for the first time in more than a decade. SDSM has been in power since then, but the 2024 election saw VMRO-DPMNE as the largest party again. Economic performance, particularly cost of living, and corruption drive citizens’ top day-to-day political concerns. Despite widespread corruption and ongoing scandals involving top politicians, which have eroded public trust in leaders and institutions, the country passed amendments that reduced punishments for public sector corruption in 2023. Corruption has also affected the economy, contributing to brain drain, particularly among young and educated individuals.
At the macro level, politics in North Macedonia has been structured by the intersection of questions over national identity and the process of Euro-Atlantic integration. However, a long-running dispute with Greece over the country’s name (Greece argued that ‘Macedonia’ without qualifiers implied irridentist claims to the Greek province of the same name) blocked progress and fostered political stagnation. A historic deal that renamed the country to North Macedonia, appeared to put the name dispute to bed, only for Bulgaria to raise its own ethnically-based objections to North Macedonia’s progress towards EU membership.
North Macedonia is diverse, home to ethnic Macedonians—who make up the majority—and several minority communities, including Albanians (the largest minority group), Turks, Roma, Serbians, Bosniaks and Vlachs. The Roma community experiences continuous ill-treatment and discrimination in society. There have been ongoing ethnic tensions between Macedonians and Albanians, including an armed conflict in 2001 that resulted in the Ohrid Agreement, which introduced reforms to enhance minority rights. In 2024, the country had its first-ever ethnic Albanian (caretaker) Prime Minister. Despite this progress, over the years, national governments have promoted a nationalist Macedonian identity, leading to tensions both internally and with neighbouring countries. With VMRO-DPMNE's return to power, there are indications that these efforts have been revived.
North Macedonia ranks in the mid-range for Gender Equality according to the GSoD Indices. Despite ratifying the Istanbul Convention in 2017 and amending the Criminal Code in 2023, gender-based violence and femicide are widespread. Although a gender quota has boosted women’s political participation, women remain underrepresented, particularly in the executive branch and local government. Progress on two key laws—the Law on Gender Equality and the Law on Civil Registry, which included provisions for transgender Legal Gender Recognition—has stalled due to coordinated movements and protests by religious groups, fuelling anti-LGBTQIA+ discrimination and hate speech.
In the coming years, close attention should be paid to the Rule of Law, particularly the Absence of Corruption and Access to Justice, given the widespread corruption in the country. It will be important to watch Social Group Equality due to the major ethnic divides, and concerns about the rights of the minorities, and of the LGBTQIA+ community. Additionally, with the cost of living being a top concern for citizens, it will be important to observe its impact on Economic Equality.
Last updated: September 2024
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October 2024
Constitutional Court abolishes ethnic balancing quota for public administration
On 9 October, the Constitutional Court abolished the “Ethnic Balancer,” a mechanism introduced in 2015 to enforce ethnic quotas in public sector jobs. The State Anti-Corruption Commission had challenged its constitutionality earlier in 2024, arguing it violates freedom of expression and may unfairly exclude applicants. Critics, including the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party, claim the mechanism has led to an over-staffed public sector with party loyalists and was misused due to the fluidity of ethnic identity. The mechanism greatly improved the inclusion of the Albanian minority, who make up about one-quarter of the population, but its removal has sparked concerns about potentially reversing progress in the already fragile inter-ethnic relations. It is important to watch how the removal of this mechanism will affect minority inclusion and whether it will be replaced with new legislation to address inclusion.
Sources: Media Information Agency, TV21, Radio Free Europe (North Macedonia) (1), Radio Free Europe (North Macedonia) (2), New York Times, North Macedonia's Constitutional Court
May 2024
Right-wing VMRO-DPMNE wins parliamentary elections; its candidate wins presidency
North Macedonia held parliamentary elections and the presidential runoff on 8 May. The right-wing coalition VMRO-DPMNE emerged as the largest party with 43.3 per cent of the vote, marking a shift in power after seven years of rule by the centre-left Social Democratic Union (SDSM), which secured 15.3 per cent of the vote. The European Front coalition received 13.6 per cent. VMRO-DPMNE-backed Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova won the presidential runoff with 65 per cent of the vote, becoming North Macedonia's first female president. Experts said the results reflect voter frustration with corruption and stalled EU accession efforts. Women comprised 43 per cent of parliamentary candidates. International observers reported the elections were competitive with a pluralistic campaign, but were marred by nationalistic rhetoric, legislative shortcomings, and inadequate oversight of campaign finances. Similar to previous elections, voter turnout was 55.4 per cent for parliamentary elections and 47.4 per cent for the presidential runoff.
Update: In a final report issued in September, international election observers said that the elections were competitive and fundamental freedoms were respected, but the process remained insufficiently regulated.
Source: State Election Commission (1), State Election Commission (2), Reuters (1), Reuters (2), OSCE ODIHR (1), OSCE/ODIHR (2), International IDEA
February 2024
Parliament passes amendments allowing state funded ads in private media
On 28 February, the Parliament of North Macedonia passed amendments that will allow the government to run advertisements in private media using public resources. The amendments were submitted to parliament in November 2023 in an expedited process, typically utilized for crucial, EU-sought reforms. State advertisements in private media were outlawed in 2018. North Macedonia’s Journalists’ Association and the Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers have criticized the amendments, voicing concerns about risks to political influence on the media, increased dependency of the media on politics, and disruption of the media market. In 2019, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network had disclosed that the government led by Nikola Gruevski, who is currently a fugitive following a jail sentence for corruption, had funnelled approximately EUR 26 million over seven years into predominantly private media in order obtain favourable coverage.
Sources: Balkan Insight, MKD.mk, Nova Makedonija, Deutsche Welle
January 2024
Parliament agrees on caretaker government; elects first-ever ethnic Albanian PM
Parliament elected Talat Xhaferi from the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI), the largest ethnic Albanian party, to be the caretaker prime minister. Despite the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party securing two ministerial and three deputy positions in the new cabinet, its MPs abstained from voting for Xhaferi. The vote follows the resignation of Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski, in line with a system introduced in 2015 to prevent ruling party interference in the 100 days before elections through the formation of caretaker (technical) governments. Xhaferi's election follows a 2020 coalition agreement between the ruling Social Democrats and BDI, where the appointment of an ethnic Albanian as caretaker PM was a condition. Xhaferi's election as the first ethnic Albanian in this role has been considered historic. Previously, Xhaferi was North Macedonia's first ethnic Albanian defense minister and speaker of parliament.
Sources: Balkan Insight, Deutsche Welle, Nova Makedonija (1), Nova Makedonija (2), Europe Western Balkans
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