Macedonia Elects Chief Prosecutor After Long Delay

New chief prosecutor Joveski will face a struggle to restore faith in the institution which was noted in many reports issued by watchdogs and by Brussels and Washington as having many shortcomings, including the selective application of justice.

Joveski pledged to curb political interference in the office's work and end the practice of blocking the work of the Special Prosecution, SJO, which was formed in 2015 to investigate high-level crime.

The post of chief prosecutor has been vacant since the dismissal of Joveski's predecessor, Marko Zvrlevski in August, shortly after the new Social Democrat-led government came to power in May.

The former ruling VMRO DPMNE party attempted to delay Zvrlevski's dismissal and Joveski's election by using stalling tactics which involved the party's MPs making long speeches in parliament.