Iskra Hadji Vasileva elected head of the organized crime prosecution office with 64 votes, Pelivanov 57
175 of 187 prosecutors voted, and the win was by a margin of 7 votes. Candidates may file objections before the final result is determined.
Public prosecutors on October 28 elected Iskra Hadji Vasileva as the new head of the Basic Public Prosecution Office for Prosecuting Organized Crime and Corruption (OJO GOKK). The election was called because the mandate of the previous head, Islam Abazi, elected in October 2022, expired. The results were published by the Council of Public Prosecutors.
Turnout. Of 187 prosecutors entitled to vote, 175 voted, about 93.6 percent. Twelve did not vote and four ballots were invalid, so 171 are valid.
The votes. Hadji Vasileva 64. Trajche Pelivanov 57. Jovan Cvetanovski 30. Faton Azizi 14. Lidija Raichevikj 6. They add up to the 171 valid votes.
Our calculation as percentages of valid votes. Hadji Vasileva about 37.4 percent, Pelivanov about 33.3 percent, Cvetanovski about 17.5 percent, Azizi about 8.2 percent and Raichevikj about 3.5 percent. The gap between the first two is seven votes, or about 4 percentage points, which shows a tight race.
By region. According to Telma, Hadji Vasileva won in Skopje, Bitola and Shtip, and Pelivanov in the Gostivar area.
What is known about her. She started as a prosecutor in 2016 at the Basic Public Prosecution Office Skopje, after training at the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors, and has been at OJO GOKK since 2024. According to Telma, she is publicly known for leading the proceedings against judge Gjoko Ristov, in whose family home in Negotino 350,000 euros were found walled up, and for the case against the former director of the Agricultural Inspectorate, Vase Anakiev. The proceedings are ongoing, no conclusion is stated about anyone, and the presumption of innocence applies.
Her platform. She based her campaign on four pillars: efficient and timely proceedings, financial investigations and asset confiscation, stronger capacities and digitalization, and transparency and public trust.
Who the candidates were. Besides the winner, the vote included Trajche Pelivanov of the Higher Public Prosecution Office Skopje, Jovan Cvetanovski of the Higher Public Prosecution Office Skopje, Faton Azizi of OJO GOKK and Lidija Raichevikj of the Basic Public Prosecution Office Skopje. So three of the five candidates are from Skopje, and one is from the very office that the winner will lead.
Why it matters. The office, by its name, prosecutes organized crime and corruption, so its leadership affects how priorities are set for the most sensitive cases. The public will therefore watch three things: whether priorities are published, whether there are clear deadlines for pending cases and whether there is transparency toward the public, which is one of the four pillars of her platform.
What comes next. Candidates may file objections, after which the final result will be determined. The length of the mandate and the procedure for formal appointment are not stated, so we do not assume them. It is worth watching how she handles the cases she leads and whether she publishes the prosecution’s priorities.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 29, 2026
