Five candidates vie to succeed Islam Abazi as head of the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Corruption

Five candidates presented their programs today to the Council of Public Prosecutors as they compete to replace Islam Abazi at the head of the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Corruption. The vote is set for the 28th of this month and will be held by direct secret ballot among public prosecutors from around the country.

Candidates and their priorities

Faton Azizi, who comes from the Department for the Prosecution of High‑Level Corruption at the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Corruption, emphasized a stronger fight against money laundering and a more proactive engagement with the blacklists published by the country's international partners.

Trajche Pelivanov from the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Skopje said his work will be grounded in evidence, which he described as decisive for opening cases.

Unlike the others, Lidija Raichevic argued that the office needs greater professional expertise and more proactive activity in detecting criminal offenses rather than new prosecutorial programs.

Iskra Hadzi Vasileva, a candidate from the same Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Corruption, based her program on four pillars: timeliness, financial investigations, strengthening the Investigative Centre, and digitalization.

Jovan Cvetanovski, a public prosecutor at the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Skopje, highlighted plans to increase the efficiency of investigations into high‑level corruption and money laundering and to reduce the number of old and unresolved cases.

The five presented a shared demand for an independent and more effective prosecutor's office with greater resources, especially for the Investigative Centre. The incoming head will be chosen in the scheduled secret ballot on the 28th of this month.

Photo: press material from the event