site.btaOne in Seven Voters in North Macedonia Is Party Member, Ethnic Voting Is the Norm, Study Shows

A comparative study of national election systems shows that North Macedonia is among the countries where political party members account for a particularly large share of the electorate. One in seven eligible voters in North Macedonia is a member of some party, shows the study, which was unveiled on Wednesday.

The local segment of the international study was conducted by the Saints Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje in collaboration with the "Societas Civilis" Institute for Democracy and the Swiss government's Electoral Support Programme in North Macedonia.

The report says that women and young people are relatively less engaged in North Macedonia politics. About 13.3% of respondents say they are members of political parties, compared with 3% to 5% in EU member states. One party member out of every three participated in a rally or other public event organized by a political party in the run-up to last year's elections.

Ethnic voting is the norm in North Macedonia, the study shows. "Only two of the Macedonian parties have supporters among voters of Albanian origin or other ethnic communities in this country, while Macedonians never vote for Albanian parties," said Jovan Bliznakovski, an associate professor of political science at the Saints Cyril and Methodius University, as quoted in the local media. He sees polarization in North Macedonia along partisan and ethnic lines.

The ethnic factor is also prominent in people's assessments of the performance of the governments of former prime ministers Zoran Zaev and Dimitar Kovachevski, in which the country's largest ethnic Albanian party, DUI, held a share.

Some 37.4% of respondents in the local study say they vote for the same party every time, and another 25.3% say they vote for different parties.

The local segment of the international study was conducted between October 25 and December 4, 2024, among 1,056 eligible voters across North Macedonia.