Albanians in the southwestern town of Himara are voting for a new mayor Sunday after their previous choice was convicted and imprisoned on vote-buying charges.
FILE - Fredis Beleris listens to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during their meeting at Maximos Mansion in Athens , Monday, July 15, 2024. Albania ns in the southwestern town of Himara are to vote Sunday for a new mayor after their previous choice, Fredis Beleris, a member of the country’s ethnic Greek minority, was stripped of his title, convicted and imprisoned on vote-buying charges in what he and neighboring Greece have claimed was a politically motivated case.
Both candidates in Sunday’s election — governing Socialist Party candidate Vangiel Tavo and Petraq Gjikuria from the Together We Win coalition — are members of the local ethnic Greek community. Gjikuria’s 10-party coalition includes the main opposition’s center-right Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the leftwing Freedom Party of former President Ilir Meta.
Tavo has said he will complete a process begun by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama a few months ago to provide Himara residents with property ownership certificates, while Gjikuria has pledged to better defend residents’ property rights.Beleris won last year’s election with a 19-vote lead, backed by parties opposing Rama’s governing Socialists. But he never took office, being detained until his conviction in March.
Ethnic Conflicts Albania Greece Europe General News Voting Athens World News Politics I Government Appointments And Nominations Elections European Parliament
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