North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski accused the Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary of failure in the fight against organized crime, corruption, and political interference in their work.

He made these comments Wednesday following the decision of the U.S. Department of State, which announced the designation of Ramiz Merko, the mayor of Struga Municipality and a member of the leadership of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), as “persona non grata”.

According to the statement from the Department of State, Ramiz Merko and his family are banned from entering the United States due to his involvement in significant corruption, “misuse of funds and interference in judicial and other public processes, undermining public trust in the democratic institutions and officials of North Macedonia”.

Gabriel Escobar, U.S. special envoy for the Balkans, told the Voice of America that he hopes this decision will assist the government in North Macedonia in continuing its efforts to fight corruption.

Meanwhile, Richard Nephew, coordinator for Anti-Corruption at the U.S. Department of State, said that “the decision was made because the Secretary of State had credible information suggesting that Merko was involved in major corruption… It involves embezzlement of funds and interference in judicial processes. And, so, according to the law, when the Secretary reaches this conclusion, someone’s designation is legally required.”

The mayor of Struga has not yet commented on the decision of the U.S. Department of State, while the only reaction from the DUI came from the Minister of Education Jeton Shaqiri, who said that “DUI remains in favor of the need for vetting from the highest to the lowest level”.

Prime Minister Kovačevski stated that North Macedonian investigative and judicial authorities should question how the U.S. obtained information indicating that the mayor of Struga was involved in major corruption when they had failed to obtain such information in previous years.

“This once again confirms that our investigative and judicial system needs a comprehensive renewal, as we want to live in a European country,” said Kovačevski.

Ramiz Merko has been the mayor of Struga for 14 consecutive years as a member of DUI, led by Ali Ahmeti.

Prior to his first term as mayor in 2003, Merko had worked at the Agriculture Agency, and his biography also shows that he was the owner of an agricultural pharmacy in Struga.

He has been the target of criticism for misusing funds in many reports from the Auditor General of North Macedonia, but no investigations have ever been initiated.

In 2022 alone, according to the audit report, he is suspected of allocating 80,000 euros from the municipal budget for gifts, lunches, and dinners.

The State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption had initiated a procedure against Merko for abuse of duty regarding the procurement of four vehicles for the municipality worth 114,000 euros, one of which was for Merko himself, worth 67,000 euros. However, no investigation was carried out against him.

The mayor of Struga and a close associate of his are also suspected of malpractices in a private university in Struga, regarding the issuance of numerous faculty diplomas and other titles, mainly to various public figures inside and outside of North Macedonia.

His son, Genc Merko is a co-owner of “Euro College Struga”, affiliated with the international university in the same city.

Several years ago, education inspectors stated that the institution was operating as a “diploma mill” as students were studying without proper credentials, and there were also professors teaching without diplomas, including the mayor himself. However, no investigations were conducted by law enforcement agencies.

When asked if Merko should resign, Prime Minister Kovačevski said that regarding the legal and ethical aspects of the mayor’s mandate, he should answer that question himself because he is an official elected by the citizens.

His placement on the U.S. blacklist has sparked numerous reactions.

“I believe that Ramiz Merko, as the mayor of Struga and a member of the DUI leadership, should irrevocably resign, at least for moral reasons, and investigations should be opened into allegations of his involvement in corruption and interference with the judiciary, even though I believe that the U.S. does not make wrong assessments,” said Arben Taravari, leader of the Alliance for Albanians, a party that is part of the North Macedonian government.

The Besa Movement, another Albanian opposition party, seeks accountability not only from Ramiz Merko but also from many other officials whom they claim are involved in various corrupt affairs.

“We strongly believe that this is only the beginning of exposing corruption and incriminated officials of the DUI. We expect this list to be supplemented in the coming days with other officials who, in the name of ‘investments’, have misused and continue to misuse local and foreign funds,” the Besa Movement’s reaction stated.

In addition to Ramiz Merko, other personalities from North Macedonia, such as former Minister of Interior Ljube Boškoski, the leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians Menduh Thaçi, former deputy Xhevat Ademi, and eight other individuals are on the U.S. blacklist.

However, based on the statement of U.S. Ambassador Angela Aggeler, it is expected that more individuals will be added to the blacklist following Merko.