Skopje, 25 December 2025 (MIA) – Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi called on parliamentary groups to find a political will in order an ombudsman to be elected in Parliament. Speaking at Thursday’s press briefing, he said he will make personal efforts to find a solution to the matter because, as he said, a key institution is involved and it’s impermissible to be left without someone at the helm for so long.

Gashi mentioned that the ombudsman should be elected by a majority and by a large Badinter majority (20 members representing the communities).

“I take this occasion through you, the media, to call on all political parties to unblock this process, to find a solution and political stakeholders to find a solution. Most importantly, we need to be careful toward a very crucial institution, the Ombudsman’s Office. I’d like it to happen as soon as possible and I would schedule a session right away,” stated Gashi. 

If no political will is found for the election of an ombudsman, Gashi said, an alternative should be found then. “But I believe that there are still political capacities for finding a compromise, which is why I’m calling for finding a solution these days. I think we don’t have that many differences preventing us from deciding who the ombudsman will be,” said the Speaker. 

The Commission on Appointment and Election Issues has proposed Faton Selami for the ombudsman’s post. The ruling majority has enough votes to elect the candidate, however, there are not enough votes for him to be elected according to the Badinter principle. The majority has 14 votes according to Badinter, with votes lacking from DUI’s European Front coalition.

On the election on new Judicial Council members, Gashi said they will be elected according to the new legislation, due to be adopted on December 30.

Photo: MIA