Politics of the Republic of Macedonia
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Politics of the Republic of Macedonia occurs 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.
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[edit] Executive branch
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Branko Crvenkovski | SDSM | 12 May 2004 |
| Prime Minister | Nikola Gruevski | VMRO-DPMNE | 27 August 2006 |
The role of the President of the Republic is mostly ceremonial, with the real power resting in the hands of the President of the Government. The President is the commander-in-chief of the state armed forces and a president of the state Security Council. The President of the Republic is elected every five years and he or she can be elected twice at most. The current President is Branko Crvenkovski. The President is obliged to entrust the mandate for constituting the Government to a candidate from the party or parties which has/have a majority in the Assembly. The Government is elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Assembly.
The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The power of the President of the Republic is mostly limited, with the real power resting in the hands of the President of the Government of Macedonia. The last election was last held October 2004: Branko Crvenkovski was elected president in a two-round ballot with 60.6%, defeating Sasko Kedev with 39.4%.
The current government is a coalition of VMRO-DPMNE, the Democratic Party of Albanians, the Liberal Party of Macedonia, the New Social Democratic Party, the Socialist Party of Macedonia, and the Party for the Movement of Turks in Macedonia.
[edit] Legislative branch
The Assembly (Sobranie) has 120 members, elected for a four year term, by proportional representation.
[edit] Political parties and elections
| Candidates and nominating parties | Votes 1st round | % | Votes 2nd round | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branko Crvenkovski - Social Democratic Union of Macedonia | 385,300 | 42.5 | 553,522 | 60.6 |
| Saško Kedev - Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization | 309,131 | 34.1 | 329,271 | 39.4 |
| Gzim Ostreni - Democratic Union for Integration | 134,048 | 14.8 | - | - |
| Zidi Xhelili - Democratic Party of Albanians | 78,269 | 8.6 | - | - |
| Total (turnout %) | 906,748 | 912,605 | ||
| Source: unavailable | ||||
| Parties and coalitions | Votes | % (p.r.) | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coalition: | Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization–Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (Vnatrešno-Makedonska Revoluciona Organizacija-Demokratska Partija za Makedonsko Nacionalno Edinstvo) |
304.585 | 32.51 | 38 |
| Liberal Party of Macedonia (Liberalna Partija na Makedonija) | 2 | |||
| Socialist Party of Macedonia (Socijalisticka Partija na Makedonija) | 3 | |||
| Democratic Union (Demokratski sojuz) | 1 | |||
| Party for the Movement of Turks in Macedonia (Partija za Dviženje na Turcite vo Makedonija) | ||||
| Union of Roma in Macedonia (Sojuz na Romite na Makedonija) | 1 | |||
| Party of Democratic Action of Macedonia (Stranka na Demokratska Akcija na Makedonija) | ||||
| Party of Vlachs of Macedonia (Stranka na Vlasite od Makedonija) | ||||
| European Party of Macedonia (Evropska Partija na Makedonija) | ||||
| Party of the Greens (Partija na Zelenite) | ||||
| People's Movement of Macedonia (Narodno Dviženje za Makedonija) | ||||
| Democratic Party of the Bosniaks (Bošnjačka Demokratska Partija) | ||||
| Party of the Democratic Forces of Roma in Macedonia (Partija na Demokratskite Sili na Romite na Makedonija) | ||||
| Party for Roma Integration (Partija za Integracija na Romite) | ||||
| Together for Macedonia (Za Makedonija zaedno) |
Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (Socijaldemokratski Sojuz na Makedonija) | 218,463 | 23.31 | 23 |
| Liberal Democratic Party (Liberalno-Demokratska Partija) | 5 | |||
| Democratic Party of Turks (Demokratska Partija na Turcite) | 2 | |||
| United Party of Romas in Macedonia (Obedinita Partija na Romite na Makedonija) | 1 | |||
| Democratic Party of Serbs (Demokratska Partija na Srbite) | 1 | |||
| Democratic Union of Vlachs (Demokratski Sojuz na Vlasite) | ||||
| Workers-Peasant Party (Rabotnicka Zemjodelska Partija) | ||||
| Socialist Christian Party of Macedonia (Socialisticka Hristijanska Partija na Makedonija) | ||||
| Green Party of Macedonia (Zelena Partija na Makedonia ) | ||||
| Coalition: | Democratic Union for Integration (Demokratska Unija za Integracija) | 113,803 | 12.12 | 14 |
| Party for Democratic Prosperity (Partia e prosperiteti demokratike /Partija za Demokratski Prosperitet) | 3 | |||
| Democratic League of Bosniaks (Demokratska Liga na Bošnjacite) | ||||
| Democratic Party of Albanians (Partia Demokratike Shqiptare/Demokratska Partija na Albancite) | 70.317 | 7.50 | 11 | |
| VMRO-People's Party (VMRO-Narodna PartijaNacionala Demokratska Partija) | 57,077 | 6.09 | 6 | |
| New Social Democratic Party (Nova Socijaldemokratska Partija) | 56,624 | 6.04 | 7 | |
| Democratic Renewal of Macedonia (Demokraticka Obnova na Makedonija) | 17,364 | 1.85 | 1 | |
| Party for Economic Renewal (Partija za ekonomska obnova) | 12,718 | 1.36 | 0 | |
| Agricultural People's Party of Macedonia (Zemjodelska Narodna Partija na Makedonia) | 12,628 | 1.35 | 0 | |
| Party for European Future (Partija za Evropska Idnina) | 11,255 | 1.20 | 1 | |
| Democratic Alternative (Demokratska Alternativa) | 11,067 | 1.18 | 0 | |
| Total (turnout 55.98 %) | 933,438 | 100.0 | 120 | |
| Source: State election commission. Only parties and coalitions with more than 1 % of the vote are listed. | ||||
[edit] Judicial branch
Judiciary power is exercised by courts, with the court system being headed by the Judicial Supreme Court, Constitutional Court and the Republican Judicial Council. The assembly appoints the judges.
[edit] Administrative divisions
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 the Republic of Macedonia are units of local self-government. Neighbouring municipalities may establish cooperative arrangements.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Foreign relations
The Republic 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 (observer), ISO, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
