Skopje, 22 December 2025 (MIA) – Anita Topolova–Misajlovska was elected acting state chief prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia. The decision was made unanimously by members of the Council of Public Prosecutors at Monday’s session. Topolova-Misajlovska succeeds Ljupcko Kocevski, who resigned on December 17 and on the same day, Parliament verified his resignation.

Initially, an acting chief prosecutor should have been elected at a December 19 session, which was postponed after a council member was a no-show.

The election of Topolova-Misajlovska is a professional and principled solution, said Council member Keti Petkova after serving as a deputy of three chief prosecutors before her, including Ljupcho Kocevski, Ljubomir Joveski and Marko Zvrlevski.

“She has served as deputy continuously for 10 years and I believe it won’t be a problem to be the chief prosecutor for several months not only because she knows the office, but because it’s a principled solution,” said Petkova. 

Topolova-Misajlovska will serve as chief state public prosecutor until a new one is elected no longer than six months. 

The acting Chief Prosecutor is appointed from the ranks of the public prosecutors in the Public Prosecutor's Office until the appointment of a new Chief Prosecutor, but not longer than six months.

Kocevski resigned on last Wednesday, the same day when the Parliament scheduled a session on the Government motion for his dismissal.

He said it was evident that the session of Parliament was only a formality, since he wasn’t given a reasonable deadline to prepare his response.

Kocevski, who was elected to the post in February 2024, said he performed his role as chief prosecutor honorably and with dignity, and that he is resigning because of what he described as “the obvious disregard for the principles on which the rule of law rests”.

The Government sought Kocevski's dismissal "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."

The Parliament issues a call for election of a Chief Prosecutor. After a 15-day application process, the Government shall ask for an opinion on all applicants from the Council of Public Prosecutors. If an opinion is not provided, the deadline is extended for another 15 days, after which the opinion is deemed positive. In case the Council fails to give a positive opinion on any of the applicants, the Government asks the Parliament to issue a new call.

Photo: MIA