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North Macedonia
Women in decision-making positions
No data on number of women in elected deliberative bodies
No woman is Head of State or Government
42%
Parliamentarians are women
18%
Ministers are women

Government organization

North Macedonia is a unitary republic with two spheres of government: central and local.

One tier of central government and one or two tiers of local government: the City of Skopje and a lower level of municipalities.
Central government
  • Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The Prime Minister is a candidate from the political party that has a majority in the Assembly, as chosen by the President. The Government, including the Prime Minister, is elected by the Assembly by a majority vote of the total number of Representatives.
  • Legislative body: The Assembly of North Macedonia is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Government is composed of the Prime Minister and ministers. The ministers are selected by the Prime Minister to be elected by the Assembly by a majority vote of the total number of Representatives.
Local government
  • Organization: Local government is organized into one or two tiers. There is an upper tier of the City of Skopje and a lower tier of its ten municipalities. There is also one tier of 70 municipalities which are located outside of the bounds of the City of Skopje.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for issuing statutes, regulations, and decrees, establishing a local budget, and levying local taxes.
  • Ministerial oversight: The Ministry of Local Self-Government is responsible for central government oversight of local government.

Overview of local government

Local government composition
City of Skopje (Град Скопје/ Qyteti i Shkupit)

Deliberative body: The City of Skopje Council (Совет на град Скопје/ Këshilli i Qytetit të Shkupit) is composed of 45 elected members. A council chairperson (претседател на советот/ kryetari i këshillit) is elected by and from the City of Skopje Council to preside over it; the council chairperson is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The Mayor of the City of Skopje (Градоначалник на Град Скопје/ Kryetari i Qytetit të Shkupit) is the executive of the City of Skopje.

Municipalities (општини/ komunat)

Deliberative body: The municipal council (општински совет/ këshilli bashkiak) is composed of 9-33 elected members. A council chairperson (претседател на советот/ kryetari i këshillit) is elected by and from the municipal council to preside over it; the council chairperson is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The municipal administration (општинска администрација/ administrata komunale) is composed of appointed civil servants and is managed by the mayor (градоначалник/ kryetar bashkie).

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for the local deliberative bodies: proportional representation (closed list)

  • A Proportional electoral system with closed lists is used for local elections. The entire territory of the city/municipality serves as a single electoral unit; elections use the D’Hondt method of seat allocation.

Electoral system for the mayors: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post)

  • Mayors are directly elected by voters on a separate ballot from the deliberative body.

Sources: Electoral Code, 2006 (amended through 2021), articles 4, 130, 132 and 133; Law on the City of Skopje, 2003, articles 2 and 67

Quotas

Gender quotas: Legislated candidate quotas, ranking/placement, sanctions

  • In candidate nomination lists for the local deliberative body elections, at least 40% of the candidates must be women, namely: in every third place at least one place is for a woman and, additionally, at least one place in each ten places. The Election Commission of City of Skopje or the respective municipal election commission will reject any list that does not fulfill this quota.

Additional quotas: No

Sources: Electoral Code, 2006 (amended through 2021), article 64; Law on the City of Skopje, 2003, article 22

Term of elections
  • Term length: 4 years
  • Last local elections: 2021
  • Next local elections: 2025
Electoral management body

State Election Commission; Election Commission of the City of Skopje; municipal election commission

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Constitution of North Macedonia, 1991 (amended through 2019);
  • Electoral Code, 2006 (amended through 2021);
  • Law on Local Elections, 2004;
  • Law on the City of Skopje, 2003;
  • Law on Territorial Organization of the Local Self-Government, 2003;
  • Law on Local Self-Government, 2002.
Constitutional provisions on local government

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in North Macedonia. According to Articles 114, 115, and 117 of the Constitution of 1991 (amended through 2019), “The right of citizens to local self-government is guaranteed. Municipalities are units of local self-government. The City of Skopje is a particular unit of local self-government the organization of which is regulated by law. Municipalities [and the City of Skopje] are financed from their own sources of income determined by law as well as by funds from the Republic. In units of local self-government, citizens directly and through representatives participate in decision-making on issues of local relevance particularly in the fields of public services, urban and rural planning, environmental protection, local economic development, local finances, communal activities, culture, sport, social security and child care, education, health care and other fields determined by law. The municipality [and the City of Skopje are] autonomous in the execution of their constitutionally and legally determined spheres of competence; supervision of the legality of their work is carried out by the Republic.”

Legislative provisions on local government

The Assembly of North Macedonia is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key pieces of legislation regarding local government are the Law on Territorial Organization of the Local Self-Government of 2003 and the Law on Local Self-Government of 2002, which regulates the direct participation of citizens in local decision-making, the competencies, organs, and administration of the municipality and the City of Skopje, and the territorial organization of local self-government in the Republic of Macedonia.

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.