The report ‘Campaign Financing for the 2025 Parliamentary Elections in Albania: Sources, Expenditures and Reporting Transparency’ analyses official financial reports submitted to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), combining structured datasets with comparative financial analysis to identify key trends in campaign expenditures, sources of funding and reporting inconsistencies that influence the transparency of electoral competition.
First prize went to stories investigating the causes of the fire at the nightclub in Kocani. The Investigative Reporting Lab, IRL, was awarded for the story “Kochani – Our Moral Compromise”. The team behind the programme “KOD”, broadcast on Telma TV, was recognised for its series of investigations on the same topic, while Fokus journalist Irena Mulachka was awarded for an article that revealed the secret owner of the agency Rubikon.
Second prize was awarded to the team of Prizma/BIRN Macedonia for the database “Religious Properties Uncovered” and the investigations stemming from it, and to the journalists Aleksandar Metodijev and Suzana Mitseva for the series “Coal at the Crossroads”.
Third prize was shared by journalist Fisnik Djelili for a story on the misuse of funds for the treatment of stray dogs in Tetovo, published by the portal Portalb, and Aleksandar Dimitrievski for the story “Police Special Forces to Be Dressed by a Women’s Fashion Studio and a Company Registered Before the Tender”, published in the TV magazine 360 Degrees.
Certificates of recognition were awarded to Miroslava Simonovska and Frosina Fakova Serafinovic from Sloboden Pechat, to Bjanka Stankovic for a story published in the magazine Lice v Lice, and to Slavica Filipovska Ivanova and Mihail Miloshevski from 360 Degrees.
The awards recognise exceptional professional dedication, investigative persistence and a strong commitment to the public interest.
The Macedonian Institute for Media has been presenting best investigative story awards since 2001. Marking the 25th anniversary, a panel discussion was also organised on the challenges and future of investigative journalism in North Macedonia, featuring representatives of the five investigative newsrooms that have won the most awards so far.