Skopje, 21 November 2022 (MIA) – Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski said Monday that he agrees with the US Embassy’s position regarding the election of the new chief prosecutor of the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Corruption and said he believes that the country’s judiciary needs additional reforms. “I have to be honest, I agree with the US Embassy’s statement. We as a government had no influence whatsoever on the election. Only the prosecutors can say how the election was carried out. Whether it was in line with all standards and principles of good governance. This also can only be answered by the prosecutors themselves or the institutions that took part in the implementation of the reforms in the prosecution system. I believe that the system needs additional reforms. The country’s judicial system has a credibility of eight percent. I believe they have a huge task ahead of them and they need to demonstrate that the citizens and the institutions can believe in the system,” said Kovachevski in answer to a journalist’s question. The US Ambassador to North Macedonia, Angela Aggeler, criticized the election of the new chief prosecutor Islam Abazi on Friday. “We, in the US Embassy, are confused by the results, especially since we have spent millions of dollars in the past year to educate prosecutors and other members of the judiciary. The citizens deserve an independent judicial sector in which positions are filled on merit and quality, through transparent processes, regardless of whether they are in the prosecution, judiciary or any other public institution. Political interference has no place in these processes. Those that interfere by exerting pressure, threats or corrupt backdoor deals should be held accountable by the citizens,” said US Ambassador Aggeler in answer to a journalist’s question. Gostivar Prosecutor Islam Abazi was elected as chief prosecutor of the BPPO for Organized Crime and Corruption on November 7, after he received 66 votes. As stipulated by the Law on the Public Prosecutor’s Office, all public prosecutors in the country can vote for the chief prosecutor of the BPPO for Organized Crime and Corruption. ad/sk/