Skopje, 11 December 2025 (MIA) - Parliament said Thursday it has received the government’s proposal for the dismissal of Chief Public Prosecutor Ljupcho Kocevski.

The legislative body said it would announce more details about the rest of the procedure at a later date.  

The procedure to dismiss Kocevski, which was halted after the nightclub fire in Kochani and then the October local elections, was relaunched on Tuesday with the proposal being adopted by the government.

"The reasons for this initiative are well known and the government has elaborated them on numerous occasions, consistently, transparently and in the interest of protecting the institutional integrity and accountability. Our goal is clear - strengthening the legal state and ensuring unhindered functioning of law enforcement in the service of citizens," government spokeswoman Marija Miteva said about the proposal.

The proposal, she added, is based on Article 88, Paragraph 1 of the Law on the Public Prosecutor's Office, upon an opinion obtained from the Council of Public Prosecutors.

"It is due to gross professional errors in the management of the Public Prosecutor's Office, which lead to the disruption of its efficiency and functionality; unauthorized disclosure of information and data on court cases, thus violating the obligation of secrecy of proceedings; damaging the PPO's and his own reputation by not proceeding in line with provisions from the Constitution, laws and international ratified treaties," said Miteva.

The spokeswoman added that in line with Article 27, Paragraph 1 of the Law on the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Chief Prosecutor is responsible for its operations.

"Through his actions, Chief Prosecutor Kocevski flagrantly violated the duty to keep the reputation of the office he is holding, as stipulated in Article 82, Paragraph 1 of the Law on the Public Prosecutor's Office," said Miteva.

On February 11, the government adopted a decision to initiate a procedure for the dismissal of Kocevski. But that procedure was halted only one month later, after the deadly fire in the illegal nightclub “Pulse” in Kochani.

Then, on June 26, the parliamentary group of Levica submitted an interpellation against the Chief Prosecutor, citing “the dysfunctional state of the prosecution, lack of efficiency in its actions, and external political influences on his work.” On July 29, the MPs adopted the interpellation of the Chief Prosecutor with 71 votes in favor. The procedure for Kocevski’s dismissal was then stopped due to “legal restrictions during the pre‑election period” ahead of the October local elections.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski told journalists he expects a swift procedure to elect Kocevski’s successor. Regarding a negative opinion provided by the Council of Public Prosecutors over the proposal, the Prime Minister said this is the position of that body, while the government holds a different view.

Ljupcho Kocevski was elected chief public prosecutor in Parliament on February 13, 2024. The chief prosecutor’s term lasts six years.

MIA file photo