The Zaev regime is pushing a loyalist of his SDSM party onto the Judicial Council, warned VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski.

The candidate is Tanja Cacarova Ilievska, who was Zaev’s adviser and sat on the board of the Macedonian Telekom as representative of the Government. Now she is being “repackaged” as an ostensibly independent pick for the powerful Judicial Council, which appoints and removes judges.

This is why we rank 111th in the world in fighting corruption and remain worst in Europe, Mickoski said.

SDSM initially tried to appoint a top party official and Secretary General of the Parliament Cvetanka Ivanova to the Council, as well as lawyer Vasko Talevski who is member of the party’s legal affairs committee in Bitola. Their overt partisanship sparked criticism and the proposals were withdrawn. Now the party is lining up behind Ilievska, as well as lawyer Keti Petkova and Justice Ministry official Nada Simjanoska.

Ilievska was appointed to the Telekom board after working as Zaev’s adviser on legal issues, and there replaced Zaev’s right hand man Dragi Raskovski. As further proof of her partisan affiliation, SDSM calls on her to present the party’s petitions to the State Electoral Commission.