Macedonia’s lawmakers have voted to sack State Attorney General Marko Zvrlevski, a key ally of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, after the opposition ended a month of filibustering over the issue.
The motion to dismiss Zvrelvski was easily approved by a 64-0 vote in parliament on August 17 after MPs from Gruevski’s opposition VMRO-DPMNE party left the chamber.
The 57-year-old prosecutor had been accused of failing to carry out his duties and being selective in taking on corruption scandals that could impact Gruevski, making his removal a priority of Prime Minsiter Zoran Zaev’s government, which took power in May.
VMRO-DPMNE had fought the move, saying the Anticorruption Commission, appointed by Gruevski when he was in power, ruled it was illegitimate because of preparations for local elections to be held in October.
The ruling, however, was not legally binding and the party ended its delay tactics after deeming it had made its point on the subject.
A new attorney general is expected to be appointed in the coming months.
