The Constitutional Court in North Macedonia has temporarily halted public sector hiring based on ethnic quotas, pending a final ruling on the constitutionality of the ‘Balancer’ mechanism that has been in use for the past decade.

Why is this significant

The decision could fuel inter-ethnic tensions in North Macedonia, where relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and the ethnic Albanian community, which comprises about a quarter of the population, remain shaky.

Context

On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court accepted a motion submitted by the State Anti-Corruption Commission and agreed to review the legal provisions on ethnic quotas in public-sector employment. Until the court reaches a final decision, it has temporarily “frozen” the “Balancer” mechanism, which has regulated ethnic quotas in public-sector recruitment for the past decade.

The motion of the State Anti-Corruption Commission questions the constitutionality of laws and mechanisms on ethnicity in public-sector recruitment. It contends that these regulations compel applicants to declare their ethnicity during the hiring process, which they claim violates the constitutional right to free expression and could be a discriminatory “disqualifying factor” for candidates.

The Constitutional Court’s deliberation mirrored ethnic divisions in the country with the ethnic Albanian judges arguing for the dismissal of the motion.

The legal provisions on ethnic quotas in the public sector were introduced as part of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which ended an armed conflict with ethnic Albanian militants in 2001. It aims to ensure equitable representation of ethnic communities. 

The ruling VMRO-DPMNE party has claimed that the mechanism has been misused, leading to an overstaffed public sector filled with party clients. The party is in favour of new legal provisions to ensure equitable representation while preventing abuse. However, no alternative provisions have been proposed yet.