Levica: Mickoski and State Lottery face questions over financing of '35 Years of Independence' celebration

The opposition party Levica accused Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and the leadership of the State Lottery of creating doubts about how the celebration for "35 Years of Independence" was financed, after payments and a subsequent award of the event contract to a company linked to the same business circle.

In a written statement Levica said: "After recent information published about the company 'Avalon', we can conclude that mathematics is not Mickoski's strong suit, as is his expertise in small hydro power plants. Specifically, a media outlet reported that in February the State Lottery paid 1,850,610 denars to 'Stardast DOOEL', a company founded by Mia Milosheska connected to 'Avalon'. Only two months later, 'Stardast DOOEL' became the sole candidate chosen to organise the programme for 35 years of independence. It is scandalous that when asked on what basis the Avalon-affiliated subsidiary received funds from the Lottery, the outlet received no answer!"

Levica also highlighted that, under director Aleksandar Klimovski, the State Lottery has been repeatedly implicated in questionable allocations of public funds. The party listed specific examples it says show partisan distribution:

• 24,000 euros to an association linked to the brother of a member of the prime minister's security team;
• 45,000 euros for a "watching football" project to an association founded by former VMRO-DPMNE adviser Stefan Sinadinovski;
• more than 4 million denars monthly to influencers, professors, public figures and partners of government officials — allegedly with no clear criteria or accountability.

Questions Levica wants answered

The party demanded that Klimovski clarify a series of points: the criteria and purpose for the Lottery payment to the Avalon-linked company two months prior to the public call for sponsorship; publication of the contract for hiring David Guetta; detailed data on companies labelled "socially responsible"; and a full financial breakdown for the "35 Years of Independence" caravan.

Levica said public pressure and the government's failure to respond forced Mickoski to announce that the celebration cost "zero denars", a statement the party called misleading given that the State Lottery is a public company. The opposition urged the prime minister to stop acting as de facto spokesperson for each ministry and to allow the Lottery director to present the requested documents and explanations.

Photo: press material from the event