On Thursday, Parliament’s Committee on Election and Appointment Issues determined the decision for Faton Selami to be nominated to succeed Naser Ziberi, who has retired, as Ombudsperson. The Chair of the body, VMRO-DPMNE MP Gjorgjija Sajkoski, stated that 17 people had applied initially. VLEN, which nominated Selami, believes he meets all criteria.
Bekim Qoku, MP of that party, stated that the candidate from Tetovo had a law degree from Tetovo University and a Master’s from Southeast European University. In the past, he worked at the Agency for Free Access to Public Information and Office of Ombudsperson, and, as a secretary-general, Justice Ministry. Since 2020, he’s worked at the regional unit of that Ministry in Tetovo, many media reported yesterday.
SDSM MP Sanja Lukarevska stated that in the future, when it came to such sensitive positions, all situations needed to be determined and detected sooner, adding that both citizens and MPs should be notified in a transparent and timely process. However, Sajkoski stated that all efforts had been invested to start the procedure to elect a new Ombudsperson as soon as the information that Ziberi met old-age retirement conditions had arrived.
Among the other people that applied in the race were Deputy Ombudsperson Ylber Rufati and the Chief of Staff of Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi, Driton Nebiu.
However, also on Thursday, Telma reported that, in his CV submitted to Parliament, Selami hadn’t included the piece of data about him currently being part of the Tetovo Municipality Council representing Alternative. His last post on Facebook is dated 22 July, when, during political activities, he accompanied Speaker Gashi and Tetovo Mayor Bilall Kasami.
“Welcome to Tetovo, Mr Afrim Gashi! I had the pleasure of welcoming and accompanying, in the capacity of Municipality Council member, the Mayor, the Council President, and other officials, during the visit of Tetovo to the Speaker of Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, who treated us with his presence”, the caption reads.
In 2021, he became the first head of that party’s branch in Tetovo. According to his CV, Selami has passed the Bar and Notary Exams, as well as the one for a court-appointed translator (Albanian into English and vice-versa).