North Macedonia’s parliament voted on Monday to pass a motion of no confidence against Vesna Dameva, a member of the Judicial Council, amid ongoing political turmoil over judicial independence and governance.
The motion, which was proposed by lawmakers from the ruling coalition and submitted by Antonio Miloshoski of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, was supported by all 77 legislators present in the 120-seat parliament. No lawmakers voted against or abstained.
The decision has sparked heated political debate, with critics calling it an unconstitutional attack on the judiciary. Dameva, addressing lawmakers before the vote, dismissed the motion as a “politically motivated move” that would further deepen the crisis in the judicial system rather than resolve it.
“Must you trample on living people like this?” Dameva asked MPs during the session, questioning the legitimacy of the parliamentary intervention in judicial affairs.
Political Reactions
Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski’s ruling Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) defended the decision, arguing that the move was necessary to restore credibility to the judiciary, which has faced public criticism over alleged corruption and inefficiency.
However, opposition figures, including SDSM lawmaker Oliver Spasovski, condemned the vote as “an unconstitutional precedent and a direct attack on the rule of law.” He warned that such political interventions could undermine judicial independence.
“With this unconstitutional motion, the parliamentary majority is destabilizing the legal order,” Spasovski stated. “This is a dangerous precedent.”
The nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party, which spearheaded the motion, insisted that removing Dameva was a necessary step toward judicial reforms. Miloshoski argued that the Judicial Council had been “politicized” and that Dameva’s dismissal was a step toward “dismantling the corrupt system.”
Broader Implications
The vote on Dameva’s removal comes amid broader tensions over the role of the Judicial Council, which oversees the appointment and dismissal of judges. The Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) has signaled plans to initiate further no-confidence votes against constitutional court judges, raising concerns about judicial independence.
Meanwhile, the left-wing party Levica expressed support for the dismissal, calling for greater accountability in the judiciary. “This is a key moment in the fight for the rule of law and institutional trust,” Levica MP Borislav Krmov said.
Despite her removal, Dameva insisted she would continue serving until the end of her mandate, suggesting further legal and political disputes ahead.
The motion’s passage has intensified debate over the judiciary’s role in North Macedonia, a country that has been under pressure from the European Union to implement judicial reforms as part of its bid to join the bloc.
