site.btaNorth Macedonia Marks Constitution Day

On Monday, North Macedonia celebrated the anniversary of the adoption of its Constitution on November 17, 1991.

Constitutional Court President Darko Kostadinovski said in a video message on Facebook: "To be loyal to the Constitution is our duty. Building a state governed by the rule of law today represents an act of supreme patriotism and love for one's own country, as well as the surest way to preserve the legacy of our ancestors and to secure a future for our descendants in a free, democratic and prosperous state. I call on you on this day to fulfil our duty to the homeland."

The Constitution of the former Yugoslav republic, which declared independence in 1991, was adopted 34 years ago in the absence of MPs of Albanian origin, who left the chamber, the country's media recall. Only two months later the first amendments were adopted, committing the state to having no territorial claims against its neighbouring countries.

Since then, several amendments have been made to the country's basic law. The 2001 conflict led to a major crisis in the country. The solution was found through the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which provides for decentralization, recognition of the rights of the country's ethnic communities and changes to the political structure to improve interethnic integration. Fifteen constitutional amendments followed a year later, officially introducing the framework for political and ethnic equality through mechanisms for the participation of ethnic communities in public and political life.

In 2017 the Prespa Agreement was signed, aiming to resolve the long-standing name dispute between the country and Greece. It required changing the state's name to "the Republic of North Macedonia". The agreement paved the way for the country's Euro-Atlantic integration. A year later, in 2018, a referendum was held with the question, "Do you support EU and NATO membership by accepting the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Hellenic Republic?" Planned as a consultative referendum, despite the low turnout of 36.91%, a good 91.46% of voters confirmed their support for changing the state's name. With the official adoption of the constitutional amendments in 2019, the Republic of Macedonia officially became the Republic of North Macedonia, and the country joined NATO.

The country now faces a new demand for constitutional change as a condition for starting negotiations with the European Union. Two years ago the then government launched the process by submitting amendments to include Bulgarians and five other communities in the Constitution. The proposal was approved by the parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs but never reached a plenary sitting, because there was no two-thirds majority in the country's parliament to vote on a constitutional amendment, Sitel Television recalled.