The 2025 North Macedonian local elections constituted one of OSCE’s largest election observations in recent years, reflecting OSCE’s continued commitment to the political stability of the region. Elections were held on 19 October 2025, with run-offs on 2 November 2025.  Regional issues predominated in both polls but the Electoral  Commission reported the lowest turnout since independence. Reflecting ubiquitous 'voter apathy', the ethnic mix of North Macedonia also reveals a surprising complexity. This ethnic diversity is often under-identified in a territory which for several years after the fall of Yugoslavia was known as the Federal Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). North Macedonia is a landlocked country without internationally recognized, sovereign 'enclaves', yet it contains great demographic diversity. The entire country is effectively an 'enclave' of the wider Balkan region, now neighbour to five different new states.  I remember during my first visit as a teenager, Marshall Tito’s ubiquitous portrait smiling everywhere in a united Yugoslavia that said several communities within North Macedonia are also 'enclaves' in a cultural, ethnic, or religious sense. Take Vevčani, often dubbed the "Republic of Vevčani". A self-declared “micro-nation” during the breakup, it remains an Orthodox Christian enclave whose surrounding villages are predominantly Muslim.

Then there is Skopje’s Old Bazaar or "Turkish enclave" with its Ottoman architecture. Financial support from Ankara and Gulf states has funded renewal of local facilities and mosques. These ethnically diverse areas are integral parts of North Macedonia's territory, not sovereign geographical enclaves. However, in many ways, the local elections amplified their ethnic diversity.  In the first round, the ruling VMRO-DPMNE won the most mayoral spots (33) while VLEN won 5 municipalities, SDSM (3) and NAI (3) In the second round, the ruling conservatives achieved just over two-thirds of the mayoral contests, leaving opposition Social Democrats far behind. Working within this pattern, ethnic communal interests were only partially satisfied. This has heightened the desire of Macedonia’s ethnic groups to obtain better representation. They have individually seen their aspirations for greater self-government hastened by the evidence of what they might achieve outside the VMRO-DPMNE camp.

There are no distinct Russian-speaking areas in North Macedonia. Russian speakers are part of a small minority population. North Macedonia does, however, possess a community far more locally powerful than any of the distinctive communities mentioned above. One might argue that North Macedonia possesses a distinctively Roma 'enclave', increasingly distrustful of the failure of “big government” in Skopje to deliver for its residents. The 2025 local elections, despite all the hurdles of political representation, depict the Roma community in comparative political ascendancy. This may well be the last election where its representation will be anything but solidly Roma. Shutka (Šuto Orizari), a municipality within Skopje with the world's largest concentration of Roma people, is the only municipality with a Roma-run local government. It is effectively a Roma 'enclave'. Roma people........

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