Prosecutors to elect Islam Abazi's successor on October 28

Prosecutors from across North Macedonia will vote on October 28 to choose a successor to Islam Abazi as head of the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption, Bashkim Besimi confirmed after signing and sending the vacancy notice to the Official Gazette. The 15-day deadline for applications will start running from the date the notice is published.

Legal conditions and procedure

Under the Law on Public Prosecution, a candidate for chief prosecutor at the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption must have an uninterrupted track record of at least six years as a public prosecutor by the time of application and must have received a positive appraisal in the past three years.

Currently the statute provides a four-year mandate with the possibility of re-election. A draft revision that has stalled in parliament because it lacks a two-thirds majority proposed a six-year mandate without the option of re-election; it also set that the vote would be considered valid only if more than half of the total number of public prosecutors cast ballots.

October 28 will be the second occasion that prosecutors choose the head of the specialized office. In the first round, out of four candidates Islam Abazi received the most votes, but images that surfaced showing him with relatives of DUI leader Ali Ahmeti sparked intense public debate and suspicions.

Since then Abazi has repeatedly denied shielding any DUI officials and has not ruled out running again.

The office has been a frequent target of criticism from VMRO-DPMNE and from the prime minister, particularly over its decision to halt the investigation into a million-euro mazut procurement in which suspects included Ratko Kapushevski, Asmir Jahoski (the son of DUI MP Ismail Jahoski), and former ESM director Vasko Kovačevski. Prosecutors have also opened cases against current officials, among them a bribery case involving the then-director of the State Agricultural Inspectorate Vase Anakiev and an investigation into alleged misuse of IPARD funds in which former director of the Agency for Financial Support in Agriculture Ilija Stoilev is accused. Former State Commission for Prevention of Corruption chair Tatjana Dimitrovska has also faced charges.

Prosecutors themselves point to limited budgets and staffing as ongoing challenges; the European Commission in its most recent progress report likewise concluded the office remains under-resourced for effectively tackling high-level corruption and organized crime.

Elena Ivanovska Mukoska
B.S.

Photo: press material from the event