Skopje, 26 February 2026 (MIA) - Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi told journalists Tuesday that politics shouldn’t interfere in the judiciary and, as head of Parliament, he said he would not comment on the return of former First Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi to the country, or how his arrest might affect the opposition parties or the Vlen coalition.

“As Speaker of Parliament, it is not appropriate for me to comment on political decisions. But what I have stated publicly, and what I stand by on principle, is that it is high time we stop interfering in the judiciary. The perception among citizens that there is some kind of deal creates a negative feeling for everyone. My message is that, finally, every institution should carry out its own responsibilities, in this case, the courts and the Prosecutor’s Office. There is a process, and they should do their work conscientiously and professionally. That will be enough to satisfy the citizens. At the end of the day, what matters is justice,” Gashi said.

Gashi said he doesn’t think Grubi’s return is a political decision. According to the Speaker of Parliament, “the time has come for all of us to realize that we no longer have time to waste in establishing the rule of law”.

“This is a call to all institutions, stakeholders, the judiciary and the Prosecutor’s Office, the executive and legislative branches. If each fulfils its responsibilities professionally and conscientiously, I believe it will not be difficult to achieve this. Finally, all of us who are called upon, including you journalists, whom I consider to be an important factor in society, if we all work in the same direction, I think we will achieve positive results much more quickly,” Gashi said.

Gashi told journalists a meeting of the working group on the Electoral Code is scheduled for Friday at the Ministry of Justice, where a chairperson is expected to be elected. He also said new laws from the Reform Agenda should arrive in Parliament in the coming weeks.

“The intention is for the work to be dynamic, so that we can have an Electoral Code acceptable to all parties involved in the electoral process as soon as possible. Regarding the reform agenda, we expect in the coming days to see which laws the Government plans to submit, so that Parliament can be prepared, set a calendar, and ensure predictability in the process of adopting the laws from the Reform Agenda,” Gashi said.

Regarding the Criminal Code, the Speaker of Parliament said he has no information when a new Criminal Code will be submitted to Parliament.

MIA file photo