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North Macedonia Government

What is the capital of North Macedonia?

Country Name Macedonia
Full Country Name North Macedonia
Local - Long Republika Makedonija
Local - Short Makedonija
Former Name People's Republic of Macedonia, Socialist Republic of Macedonia
Etymology- history of name the country name derives from the ancient kingdom of Macedon (7th to 2nd centuries B.C.)
Government Type parliamentary republic
Capital Name Skopje
Capital - geographic coordinate 42 00 N, 21 26 E
Capital Time Difference UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight Savings Time +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Independence 8 September 1991 (referendum by registered voters endorsed independence from Yugoslavia)
National Holiday Independence Day, 8 September (1991); also known as National Day
Constitution history: several previous; latest adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991

amendments: proposed by the president of the republic, by the government, by at least 30 members of the Assembly, or by petition of at least 150,000 citizens; draft amendments require approval by majority vote of Assembly members, followed by public debate; final passage requires two-thirds majority vote of Assembly members; amended several times, last in 2015

North Macedonia Capital City Map

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North Macedonia Government and Politics

Who is the president of North Macedonia?

Executive Branch: chief of state: President Stevo PENDAROVSKI (since 12 May 2019)

head of government: Interim Prime Minister Oliver SPASOVSKI (since 3 January 2019) ; note - Zoran ZAEV (since 31 May 2017) resigned on 3 January 2019, early elections are to be held on 12 April 2020

cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Assembly by simple majority vote

elections/appointments: president directly elected using a modified 2-round system; a candidate can only be elected in the first round with an absolute majority from all registered voters; in the second round, voter turnout must be at least 40% for the result to be deemed valid; president elected for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 21 April and 5 May 2019 (next to be held in 2024); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the Assembly

election results: Stevo PENDAROVSKI elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Stevo PENDAROVSKI (SDSM) 44.8%, Gordana SILJANOVSKA-DAVKOVA (VMRO-DPMNE) 44.2%, Blenim REKA (independent) 11.1%; percent of vote in second round - Stevo PENDAROVSKI 53.6%, Gordana SILJANOVSKA-DAVKOVA 46.4%
Citizenship Criteria: citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Macedonia

dual citizenship recognized: no

residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years
Legal System: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch: description: unicameral Assembly - Sobraine in Macedonian, Kuvend in Albanian (between 120 and 140 seats, currently 120; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote; possibility of 3 directly elected in diaspora constituencies by simple majority vote provided there is sufficient voter turnout; members serve 4-year terms)

elections: last held on 11 December 2016, with a second round held in one polling station on 25 December 2016 (next to be held on 12 April 2020); on 16 February 2020, parliament dissolved itself and set early elections

election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - VMRO-DPMNE 38.1%, SDSM coalition 36.7%, BDI 7.3%, Besa Movement 4.9%, AfA 3.1%, PDSh 2.7%, other 7.2%; seats by party - VMRO-DPMNE 51, SDSM coalition 49, BDI 10, Besa Movement 5, AfA 3, PDSh 2; note - the 3 seats for diaspora went unfilled because none of the candidates won the 6,500 minimum vote threshold

note: seats by party/coalition as of May 2019 - ruling coalition 68 (SDSM coalition 49, BDI 10, Besa Movement 3, PDSh 2, other 5), opposition coalition 52 (VMRO-DPMNE coalition 48, Besa Movement 2, AfA 2); composition - men 75, women 45, percent of women 37.5%
Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court (consist of NA judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by the Judicial Council, a 7-member body of legal professionals, and appointed by the Assembly; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the Assembly for nonrenewable, 9-year terms

subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Basic Courts
Regions or States: 70 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina) and 1 city* (grad); Aracinovo, Berovo, Bitola, Bogdanci, Bogovinje, Bosilovo, Brvenica, Caska, Centar Zupa, Cesinovo-Oblesevo, Cucer Sandevo, Debar, Debarca, Delcevo, Demir Hisar, Demir Kapija, Dojran, Dolneni, Gevgelija, Gostivar, Gradsko, Ilinden, Jegunovce, Karbinci, Kavadarci, Kicevo, Kocani, Konce, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krivogastani, Krusevo, Kumanovo, Lipkovo, Lozovo, Makedonska Kamenica, Makedonski Brod, Mavrovo i Rostusa, Mogila, Negotino, Novaci, Novo Selo, Ohrid, Pehcevo, Petrovec, Plasnica, Prilep, Probistip, Radovis, Rankovce, Resen, Rosoman, Skopje*, Sopiste, Staro Nagoricane, Stip, Struga, Strumica, Studenicani, Sveti Nikole, Tearce, Tetovo, Valandovo, Vasilevo, Veles, Vevcani, Vinica, Vrapciste, Zelenikovo, Zelino, Zrnovci
Political Parties and Leaders: Alliance for Albanians

Besa Movement [Bilal KASAMI]

Citizens Option for Macedonia or GROM [Stevco JAKIMOVSKI]

Democratic Party of Albanians or PDSh [Menduh THACI]

Democratic Union for Integration or BDI [Ali AHMETI]

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Nikola GRUEVSKI]

National Democratic Revival or RDK [Vesel MEMEDI]

Social Democratic Union of Macedonia or SDSM [Zoran ZAEV]

note: during the 2016 parliamentary elections VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM each led coalitions
International Law Organization Participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation: BIS, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EU (candidate country), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic Representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Vasko NAUMOVSKI (since 18 November 2014)

chancery: 2129 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 667-0501

FAX: [1] (202) 667-2131

consulate(s) general: Chicago, Detroit, New York
Diplomatic Representation from US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jess L. BAILY (since 12 February 2015)

embassy: Str. Samolilova, Nr. 21, 1000 Skopje

mailing address: American Embassy Skopje, US Department of State, 7120 Skopje Place, Washington, DC 20521-7120 (pouch)

telephone: [389] (2) 310-2000

FAX: [389] (2) 310-2499
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