How many Albanians should there be in Macedonian institutions?

According to data from the State Statistics Agency on March 30th, the total number of resident and non-resident populations in northern Macedonia is 2,097,319, of them 54.21 percent have been declared Macedonian, 29.52 percent Albanians, 3.98 percent Turkish, 2.34 percent from the Roma community, 1.18 percent Serbs, 098 Bosnians and 0.44 Vlachs.

Meanwhile, as a residential population without including citizens of Macedonian citizenship living in the diaspora, Northern Macedonia has only 1,836,713 residents, out of them 58.44 per cent Macedonian and 24.3 per cent Albanians.

State Statistics Ent, Apostol Simonovski, said he has already informed the Ministry of Information Society and Administration of how the relevant category for representation of ethnic communities in state institutions remains only that part of the population that is registered as residents in northern Macedonia.

Minister of Information Society Admirim Aliti tells Radio Free Europe that the Law for Employees in the Public Sector, where it is incorporated and the issue of representation of different ethnicities in state institutions, clearly stipulates that the total number of registered citizens is taken to base without making the division between that resident and non-resident.

What we have on duty as minister is to respect the law. The law emphasizes citizens nowhere is the resident or nonresident difference made. Even in the preliminary database based on population registration data in 2002, resident and non-resident citizens have been included. We did the same thing now. But different Macedonian circles want to pose problems. The Director of the Statistics Ent is summoned to several UN standards that give priority to the residential population, but is not summoned to the Constitution. And, however, we have primary respect for the country's Constitution before respecting the standards of international organisations”, says Aliti.

What does the law say?

The public sector employment law, which began to be implemented in 2015, envisions a mechanism for distributing new employment with adequate and fair representation of representatives of different ethnic communities living in northern Macedonia.

With the latest updates of data from the Dicaster of the Information Society, the distribution of new employment is done electronically through the mechanism called counters.

The mechanism's mechanism was implemented in 2016, the methodology for public sector employment planning. On the basis of this methodology, each institution is obliged to draft the annual employment plan and implement employment procedures in line with the annual plan by respecting the fair and adequate representation of all ethnic communities living in northern Macedonia.

The latest version of balanceers with the update of data from the last census that was implemented in October last year has been implemented by August this year.

While experts are divided on whether ethnic affiliation should be or their professional preparation is what opens the door to new administration workers.

Dragan Gocevski, legalist of Administrative Law at the “Shan Kiril and Methodius” in Skopje, tells Radio Free Europe that the inclusion of Albanians in institutions in line with the census results proved unsuccessful in terms of the administration's functioning.

Gocevski considers that if the balanceer should be respected, then the percentage of the resident population should be taken as a basis.

“will need to use data from the last census and most importantly to consider the position of relevant organs, in this case the State Statistics Agency, which has made it known that only resident population data” should be taken into account, says Gocevski.

This stance does not reconcile Isaac Sheriff, professor at Tetovo University, former political prisoner.

While the Albanian diaspora is present in the country through remittances, and investments, in the home must be served by an administration which is in accordance with the total population percentage, including the people living in the diaspora” estimates the Sheriff.

On the other hand, Gocevski adds that the ballooner has managed only partially to produce the expected effects, respectively, to open the doors to various ethnic communities in a barbarous form in line with population registration data.

The mechanism “The mechanism proved unsuccessful, as the desired effects achieved in part. Why would I say that? During employment no one can relate how the ethnic community feels. Specifically, it is abused by guaranteed countries for specific ethnic communities, since it says it nevertheless feels that it belongs to the specific ethnic affiliation depending on who the job seat is guaranteed for, Gocevski says.

But, the Sheriff estimates that many institutions, even after two decades, from the signing of the Ohrid Agreement, avoid representing Albanians in line with the general composition of the population.

“

On the other hand, Neda Malevska from the Centre for Change Management tells Radio Free Europe that the fair representation mechanism must be completely removed and adequate on the basis of ethnic affiliation in state institutions, and instead set the measure for efficiency of duty performed by administrators.

“Vlerating that approach of Minister Admirim Aliti, who in the updateing of the data has included and the non-resident population, is non-adequate because that percentage is not living here and should not be included as a percentage that should be represented in the” institutions, Maleska says.

The Macedonian opposition party, V MRO DPMNE, estimates that the balanceer mechanism should be removed as it has a negative impact on the quality and professionalism of employees in administration.

According to data from the employee registry in the public sector until December 2021, a total of 1 000 and 346 institutions of central and local power are employed 132 thousand and 88 managers. Of this number 82 thousand and 975 are Macedonians, 22 thousand and 954 Albanians, 2 thousand and 203 Turks, 1 thousand and 34 Roma etc, which in essence Albanians in state institutions are represented by about 20 percent.