5.1 General context
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Definitions and concepts
The Law on Youth Participation and Youth policies (Закон за младинско учество и младински политики) stipulates that "Youth participation" is a process that enables young people to participate and joint decision-making on policies and programs that directly or indirectly shape the lives of young people”
In the draft version of the National Youth Strategy 2023-2027 is stated that Youth participation is a process that enables young people to participate and
joint decision-making on policies and programs that directly or indirectly
shape the lives of the young people.
These opportunities are created by developing a wide range of formal and informal mechanisms for youth participation, from local youth councils to focus groups, from ongoing consultation on youth policies to projects run by young people.
Institutions of representative democracy
According to the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of North Macedonia is a parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the Prime Minister is the head of the government in a multiparty system.
Executive power is vested in the Government of Republic of North Macedonia. The Government proposes laws, adopts bylaws, determines the policies of carrying out the laws and other regulations and performs other activities in accordance with the law.
Legislative power is in the hands of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia. The Assembly is the representative body of all Macedonian citizens and it is composed of 120 Representatives. They are elected at general, direct and free elections and by secret ballot. According to Article 5 of Law on Representatives in the Assembly (Закон за избор на пратеници во Собранието на Република Македонија): “Every citizen of the Republic of Macedonia has the right to be elected a Member of Parliament if: he / she is 18 years of age; has a business ability and is not serving a prison sentence for committing a crime.”
Judiciary power is independent of the executive and the legislature and it is exercised by courts.
Article 115 of the Constitution stipulates that “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 urban planning, communal activities, culture, sport, social security and child care, preschool education, primary education, basic health care and other fields determined by law. The municipality is autonomous in the execution of its constitutionally and legally determined spheres of competence; supervision of the legality of its work is carried out by the Republic. The carrying out of specified matters can by law be entrusted to the municipality by the Republic.”
Republic of North Macedonia has 81 local self-governments organized in municipalities, including the city of Skopje that is particular unit of local self-government the organization of which is regulated by law.
The citizens in Republic of North Macedonia through non-compulsory and with guaranteed secrecy by law are electing The President, the Assembly, by proportional representation and the local self-government bodies (Mayor and Municipality Councils).