Mr Trajkovski is a member of VMRO, the dominant party in the nation's governing coalition. These concerns were taken sufficiently seriously by the electoral commission to warrant a second ballot in many parts of the country. The head of government is Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, who was elected on 30 November 1998. The Legislative branch is comprised of a unicameral Assembly known as the Sobranje. It is made up of 120 seats, of which 85 members are elected by popular vote, and 35 members come from lists of candidates submitted by parties based on the percentage that parties gain from the overall vote.
All members serve four-year terms.
The last elections were held on 18 October 1998, with the next to be held in the year 2002. It refers to itself as the Republic of Macedonia and since 1991 has been involved in a dispute with Greece, which sees its name as implying territorial aspirations to northern parts of Greece. Relations with Greece appear to have improved significantly during the last 12 months. Its most immediate priority, however, is to recover from the consequences of years of regional upheaval. The economy was essentially dependent on the markets of the sister republics of the former SFRY, the disruption of which dealt a heavy blow to economic activity in the region.