Skopje, 28 June 2024 (MIA) - Cancelling of the balancer will be done in stages. In the first stage, we will go back to the 2021 Census data and then cancel the balancer through a law and a change in the methodology while observing the Constitution's fundamental value - proper and just representation of ethnic communities, said Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski on Friday.

Minister Andonovski said this would put an end to the practice of being a member of a community first and then a professional in the field, so that "we put expertise before ethnic affiliation in the recruitment process".

"The first government session will take place today, during which we will discuss some fundamental issues related to the functioning of the executive. I am aware that people have big expectations and want everything to be done quickly, but I believe we need a comprehensive discussion about this, to see the ways how to avoid violating the constitution's fundamental principles - proper and just representation of communities - while at the same time guaranteeing merit, efficiency, quality, education and experience of employees, and not their ethnic affiliation," Andonovski told reporters.

He added that as of today, the numbers in the digital tool (balancer) have been altered in order to correspond to the 2021 Census data of the resident population.

"This means that persons noted abroad will not be part of the balancer, which is used for employment in the Republic of Macedonia. The time of ethnic balancing is a part of the past while observing the Constitution's fundamental values," said Andonovski.

Photo: MIA