a yellow sun with eight broadening rays extending to the edges of the red field
Country name:
conventional long form: The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia conventional short form: none local long form: Republika Makedonija abbreviation: F.Y.R.O.M. local short form: Makedonija
8 September 1991 referendum by registered voters endorsing independence (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday:
Uprising Day, 2 August (1903); note - also known as Saint Elijah's Day and Ilinden
Constitution:
adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991 note: in November of 2001, the Macedonian Parliament approved a series of new constitutional amendments strengthening minority rights
Legal system:
based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Boris TRAJKOVSKI (since 15 December 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since 1 November 2002) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); prime minister elected by the Assembly; election last held 1 November 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Boris TRAJKOVSKI elected president on second-round ballot; percent of vote - Boris TRAJKOVSKI 52.4%, Tito PETKOVSKI 46.2%; Branko CRVENKOVSKI elected prime minister by Parliament with 72% of the vote cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Assembly; note - current cabinet formed by the government coalition parties SDSM, LDP, and DUI (or BDI)
Legislative branch:
unicameral Assembly or Sobranje (120 seats - 85 members are elected by popular vote, 35 members come from lists of candidates submitted by parties based on the percentage that a party gains from the overall vote; all serve four-year terms) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Together for Macedonia coalition (SDSM and LDP) 60, VMRO-DPMNE 33, Democratic Union for Integration 16, Democratic Party of Albanians 7, Party for Democratic Prosperity 2, National Democratic Party 1, Socialist Party of Macedonia 1 elections: last held 15 September 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court - Parliament appoints the judges; Constitutional Court - Parliament appoints the judges; Republican Judicial Council - Parliament appoints the judges
Army (ARM), Air and Air Defense Forces, Police Force
Military manpower - military age:
19 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 553,988 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 446,726 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 17,909 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$200 million (FY01/02 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
6% (FY01/02 est.)
Disputes - international:
the Albanian government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in F.Y.R.O.M. while continuing to seek regional cooperation; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo continue to protest 2000 F.Y.R.O.M.-Serbia and Montenegro boundary treaty, which transfers small tracts of land to F.Y.R.O.M.; dispute with Greece over country's name persists
Illicit drugs:
major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish; minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe; while money laundering is a problem on a local level due to organized crime activities, the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center
