Judicial Council appoints new court presidents: the candidacy of judge Eljesa Aliji, suspected of bribery, is rejected

The Judicial Council today appointed the new presidents of several basic courts at its September 30 session, rejecting the candidacy of judge Eljesa Aliji, suspected of bribery, for president of the Gostivar Basic Court, as Sloboden Pečat reports.

Eljesa Aliji, recently retired, was suspected in May of having taken an €8,000 bribe to influence judges in a civil case in Gostivar – an investigation by OJO GOKK, which led to his suspension by the Judicial Council and the confiscation of his passport. He was running again for court president, but according to Sloboden Pečat his candidacy was rejected, as he had met the conditions for age retirement – the decision on his retirement was taken on June 13, 2026. Acting president Miroslav Petrovski, with regular documentation, was chosen as president of the Gostivar Court, while candidate Dragoslava Veselinovska was excluded for lack of an action plan.

At the same session, as Sloboden Pečat reports, Oruč Abazovski was appointed for the Debar Basic Court; rival candidate Mersim Marku was rejected because he had held the function twice. Meanwhile Valentina Burovska, who was the sole candidate, was chosen for the Sveti Nikole Basic Court.

In the race for president of the Skopje Court of Appeal, judges Zoran Gerasimovski and Lidija Zimbovska remain – this was reported earlier today.