The staffing commission, appointed after the incumbent Corruption Prevention Commission leadership resigned last November over lack of political backing, studied 55 applications, clearing 35 as complete and making a short list of six candidates.

It picked former Criminal Police Administration boss Jurij Ferme, head of the anti-graft commission's office for oversight and investigation Darko Stare, former editor of lifestyle magazine Obrazi Alma Maruška Sedlar, banking and financial expert Jožica Vaupotič Srakar, as well as Jožef Kovač and Uroš Novak.

The commission however added that the six are only suitable for the two vice-presidential posts that are part of the three-member presidency of the national anti-corruption body.

Pahor will pick two, while he will have to fully repeat the procedure for the president of the commission, who will succeed Goran Klemenčič.

The procedure could take about two more months and thus protract the appointment of the new leadership beyond 1 March, which was initially mentioned by the outgoing Corruption Prevention Commission leadership as the deadline for finding replacements.

President Pahor has indicated on several occasions that the outgoing leadership, who continue to have full powers, might have to stay in office a bit longer if he fails to appoint the new leadership by the agreed deadline.

The president of the Corruption Prevention Commission Klemenčič and both of his deputies, Rok Praprotnik and Liljana Selinšek, resigned in November in protest of the failure of politics to react to the commission's warnings to improve the legislative framework to prevent and fight corruption.