Skopje, 9 September 2025 (MIA) - The Government's General Affairs Department has launched a procedure to mark all official vehicles in the country. The aim is for all official vehicles and vehicles owned by the state to receive new colored registration plates by September 29, i.e., the beginning of the campaign for the local elections, said the head of the General Affairs Department, Ivica Tomovski, on Tuesday.

At a press conference, Tomovski said this would cover around 7,000-7,500 vehicles, stressing that the Interior Ministry has been instructed to create a registry of official vehicles by December 31, 2025. 

“Yesterday we celebrated 34 years of independence, and we have often heard over these 34 years that they would be marked to prevent possible abuses of all official vehicles for private or partisan goals, but this was never done. Now we are doing it. We have issued instructions and recommendations to all institutions in the country to begin changing the registration plates. Let this be a second call. They have a deadline until September 15 to mark all vehicles. If they fail to do so, we will issue a third call, so that all official and state-owned vehicles are marked by September 29, i.e., the beginning of the campaign for the local elections,” Tomovski stressed.

The rulebook does not foresee any fines, Tomovski said, noting that if some institutions fail to mark their vehicles by September 29, they will have to do it when registering the vehicles, when they receive special colored registration plates. 

According to the rulebook, all vehicles owned by the state, such as government vehicles, municipal vehicles, vehicles of the public enterprises, are to be marked.

“The rulebook will undergo slight changes this year since it includes vehicles that are used for specific purposes, such as some of the Interior Ministry’s and the National Security Agency’s vehicles. They will be exempted from this, but all others will remain marked,” Tomovski said.

The decision for the measure was adopted at a government session on July 29. The first vehicles to be marked were the ones used by the Government's General Affairs Department, the Free Zones Authority, the Food and Veterinary Agency, and the Customs Administration.

Photo: MIA