Macedonia Narrows Down Search for Chief Prosecutor

Only two of the 23 candidates for the vacant post of Macedonia's chief prosecutor have passed the first filter at the prosecutor's council, prosecutor Ljupco Joveski and professor Elena Andreevska, reports indicate.

Unnamed sources from the prosecutor's council cited by Telma TV said these two had received a green light from the council and have been submitted to the government who should now pick one name and propose it to parliament for adoption.

The government and prosecutor's council on Monday neither confirmed nor denied the claims.

Ever since candidacies for the vacant post were submitted in early October, prosecutor Joveski was considered the favourite by some legal experts and media because of his known knowledge of matters.

"The 63-year-old Joveski, although not widely known to the public, is well known and respected by his colleagues," the daily Fokus noted in September.
 
"His former and current colleagues describe him as a true professional who has worked in the judiciary for four decades. They say he is quiet and calm and knew how to stand out when the profession required it," Fokus continued.

Joveski's CV states that he was appointed a judge of the Skopje Basic Court 2 in 1996. After seven years in this post, in 2003 he became prosecutor.

Joveski's last appointment was as member of the prosecutors' council and he was one of ten deputies to the former chief prosecutor, Marko Zvrlevski.

From what is officially available about his financial state from the State Anti-Corruption Agency, Joveski's seems to have built up only modest assets from such a successful career - one flat, one current vehicle, plus an old "Yugo" car from 1994 and no significant financial savings.

The second...