The Commission for Constitutional Affairs has adopted the fourth draft of amendments over the weekend, which ended the debate on the draft amendments to the Constitution, in accordance with the Prespa Agreement, between Macedonia and Greece.The draft amendments will be reviewed at a plenary session on December 1st, 2018.
The Commission began the debate on the amendments on November 7th and was scheduled to last 12 days, three days for each of the proposed amendments.
The first amendment proposes the replacement of the words, Republic of Macedonia, with the Republic of North Macedonia everywhere in the Constitution, apart from Article 36, which is written in a historical aspect. The second amendment in the Preamble of the highest legal act, are the ASNOM decisions which will be replaced with the proclamation of ASNOM and the Ohrid Framework Agreement, while the third adds a new stance that declares respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of neighboring countries. The fourth amendment proposes, in addition to confirming the Macedonian identity, that the Republic protects the rights and interests of its citizens residing or living abroad and promotes their ties to the motherland.
The establishment of draft amendments to the Constitution by Parliament is the second phase of the procedure for amending the Constitution. Draft amendments are established by a simple majority or 61 votes, after which will be reviewed at a public hearing.
The final decision for the adoption of amendments is conducted by a two-thirds majority or at least 80 votes. The amendment to the Preamble of the Constitution requires a Badinter majority.
