Albanians in the southwestern town of Himara are set to vote for a new mayor on Sunday amid the jailing of the previous mayor, Fredis Beleris, and the stripping of the mayor’s title by authorities, AP News reported.
The voting began on Sunday, and fewer than 7 per cent of some 23,000 voters cast their ballots in the first two hours, the voting process going smoothly despite minor technical problems with electoral documentation, according to the Central Electoral Commission, the country’s governing electoral body.
The former mayor, Fredis Beleris, a Greek-Albanian citizen, arrested two days before the 14 May 2023 municipal elections in Himar. He faced charges and eventually convicted of offering around 40,000 Albanian lek (360 euros, $390) to buy eight votes, and is serving a two-year prison sentence.
According to him, the case against him bears political motivation as an attempt by Rama to maintain control over Himara and its potentially lucrative property potential. Albanian officials have strongly denied the allegations, citing the independence of the judiciary. In the end, the case has aggravated relations between Tirana and Athens, as Greece has threatened to suspend Albania’s accession to the European Union.
Two candidates, the Socialist Party candidate Vangiel Tavo and Petraq Gjikuria from the Together We Win coalition, are standing in Sunday’s election and both are members of the local ethnic Greek community. Tavo said he would complete the process to issue property ownership certificates to Himara residents, while Jikuria pledged to better protect residents’ property rights.
The issue of property and its potential exploitation as part of Albania’s tourism boom has been at the centre of both candidates’ election campaigns since property previously confiscated by the state went to residents in the early 1990s.
The issue often has often led to disputes between those who claimed original ownership of land and houses prior to their confiscation. Plus, the problem is further complex in Himara, an area seen as potentially lucrative for future property development, due to allegations of ethnic bias in land distribution.
