Spasovski accuses Petar Gajdov: hired as an Albanian, later declared Macedonian and allegedly falsified records to stop case
SDSM coordinator showed documents alleging Gajdov was hired under an ad for an Albanian, later declared himself Macedonian and closed a case against Marija Miteva.
Oliver Spasovski, coordinator of the SDSM parliamentary group, presented documents in Skopje accusing Petar Gajdov, director of the Agency for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information, of manipulating procedures, forging records and breaking rules while leading the institution.
Spasovski: evidence shown publicly, agency credibility at stake
Spasovski said the Agency has lost institutional credibility because of the actions of its head and walked journalists through several documents he said prove improper conduct. He focused first on Gajdov’s original employment for an assistant-head post in the legal and administrative sector.
"This is the public job advertisement on the basis of which you were employed. The public advertisement states that the planned employment, according to the Annual Plan of the institution for 2020, is for an Albanian, i.e. an Albanian woman. From the decision by which the selection was made it is clear that you were chosen for assistant‑head of that position as an ethnic Albanian. I do not go into whether you are Albanian, Macedonian, Chinese or something else. Everyone has the right to freely express their national affiliation. But, you are an Albanian until the moment when you have to compete for director of the institution," Spasovski said.
According to Spasovski, when Gajdov later applied for the director’s post he submitted a notary‑certified statement declaring that he felt Macedonian, had Macedonian national consciousness and belonged to the Macedonian people.
Spasovski also alleged irregularities in a decision adopted by the Agency’s Misdemeanor Commission while Gajdov was its chair, a decision that effectively stopped proceedings against Marija Miteva, then a spokeswoman for VMRO‑DPMNE and now a government spokeswoman.
"As president of the Misdemeanor Commission was Petar Gajdov, and members were Vasilka Pop‑Gjorgjieva and Indzhi Dzhodzha. Among other cases, there is one that is of interest to the public. But my attention is not directed at the case itself, but at the way you closed it. Without entering into the correctness or incorrectness of what you did, the case concerns Marija Miteva, then spokeswoman of VMRO‑DPMNE, and today spokeswoman of the Government and president of the Union of Women of VMRO‑DPMNE," Spasovski said.
He read parts of the commission’s reasoning, noting the decision states the procedure against Miteva "is halted because she did not prepare and did not submit a report to the Agency, in accordance with Article 115 paragraph 2 of the Law on Misdemeanors." Spasovski added that on 24 July 2025 the commission sent Miteva an email notifying her she had three days to respond with facts and evidence — a normal procedural step.
"So, on 24 July 2025 you delivered a written notification by e‑mail to Marija Miteva to state whether she felt guilty and whether she had anything to state in her defense, so that the Commission could then make a decision. But what is strange and untrue? Here we have the minutes of the held session of the Misdemeanor Commission. It concerns the minutes from the 21st session of the Misdemeanor Commission at the Agency for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information, held on the 21 [the full date is missing] 2025. That is three days before you begin the procedure by sending the letter to the official responsible for free access to information," Spasovski explained.
He said the minutes list Pop‑Gjorgjieva and Dzhodzha as present, but that both, in written statements, said they had not attended the session at all. Spasovski called for accountability and warned that such practices cast doubt over the hundreds of cases handled by the Agency.
"I think it is extremely improper to have such an approach. As I said at the beginning, personal credibility is very important. From a person who five years ago declared himself an Albanian in order to obtain a job at the Agency, and five years later, when he has to become director, declares himself the greatest Macedonian, believe me, I expect anything. Because of all this, I think you should be ashamed, and so should the party that appointed you as director. You must not shame the institution you lead," Spasovski added.
Photo: press material from the event
