The parliamentary commission on elections and appointments decides today on the new compositions of two key institutions: the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (DKSK) and the Council on Juvenile Delinquency. The lead figure of the session is Katerina Zajkovska, who with 90.67 points sits at the top of the list for a new member of DKSK.

On the DKSK list, alongside Zajkovska, are Milka Muratovska, Tanja Levajković and Vladimir Klekovski. The description: „long-term engagement in fields related to the prevention of corruption and conflicts of interest," according to the explanation accompanying the proposal. That's the standard explanation. The question is whether those words will mean anything over the next three to four years of work.

For the Council on Juvenile Delinquency, six names are in the running: Nevena Petrovska, Dimitar Karakulev, Nataša Georgieva, Zoran Kitkan, Elena Georgieva and Elena Mujovska Trpevska. The institution is less visible, but for children in the middle of the Balkans, this body has a direct impact on their lives. The questions: how many of them will show up at sessions? How much do they actually decide?

Over the last decade, DKSK has become a test for the state. When the institution is strong, corruption probes have momentum. When it's weak, it becomes a rubber stamp of correctness. The question for all of us, regardless of party affiliation: which of these candidates will be capable of going after the previous government AND the current one? Or do we accept that DKSK is a role to be played for selected topics, not for all?

All the formal procedures say the commission „decides on the basis of points." The points are set against criteria. The criteria are set against the law. That's the process. But the process doesn't guarantee the outcome. Only we guarantee - with attention, with questions, and by remembering which of these names will eventually have to make the hard calls.