North Macedonia police academy recruitment sparks ethnic representation debate

A political debate has emerged in North Macedonia regarding the ethnic representation of Albanians in the security sector following the results of the recruitment process for the ‘7 Maji’ Police High School. Out of 310 accepted students, only 9 to 13 are identified as Albanian, representing less than 3% of the new generation.

Opposition party BDI has condemned the results, labeling them a systematic exclusion of Albanians from state institutions and calling for the immediate annulment of the competition. They argue the results distort the country's actual multi-ethnic demographic structure.

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Astrit Iseni defended the process, stating that the low number of Albanian applicants was due to a lack of interest rather than exclusion. Iseni noted that out of 29 Albanian applicants, several were eliminated due to failing to meet academic success criteria or failing to appear for testing. He emphasized that the recruitment process was conducted transparently and based on merit, urging the community to utilize such opportunities in the future.