Preliminary election results on Monday showed that the ruling Socialist Party of Albania’s candidate Vangjel Tavo won the mayoral election in the southwestern town of Himara after the previous mayor was suspended following a case that caused tensions with Greece, AP News reports.
The Central Electoral Commission said Tavo won 58.62% of the vote on Sunday, while 41.38% went to Petraq Gjikuria of the 10-party coalition “Together We Win”, which includes former Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s centre-right Democratic Party and former President Ilir Meta’s leftist Freedom Party.
Early elections in Himara, 220 kilometres (135 miles) southwest of the capital Tirana, were held after the previous mayor, Fredis Beleris, was stripped of his title, convicted and jailed on charges of vote-buying. He and neighbouring Greece claim his conviction was politically motivated. Albanian officials strongly deny the allegations, citing the independence of the judiciary.
Beleris and the two mayoral candidates are members of the local ethnic Greek minority. The case against Beleris has strained relations between Tirana and Athens, and Greece has threatened to delay Albania’s bid to join the European Union.
The preliminary turnout count on Sunday was 37.61 per cent, up 3 per cent from last year, and the vote was smooth, according to the CEC. The Socialists currently dominate the town hall assembly.
The opposition complained that some 6,000 people were unable to vote because of expired ID cards. During previous elections, the commission allowed people with expired ID cards to vote at the request of some political parties and a government decision. No such requests have been made this year, CEC head Ilirjan Celibashi said.
Former Interior Minister Taulant Balla said that despite his call on July 22 to expedite the issuance of ID cards within two days, there was no response from Himara voters, especially those living in neighbouring Greece.
The voting took place at the climax of the tourist season and thousands of tourists were in the areas where the voting took place. Only a few people were aware of the vote being held.
Himara is home to ethnic Greeks. It is a coastal region with a booming tourist industry that is rife with property disputes.
After the fall of the communist regime in Albania in the early 1990s, property that had previously been confiscated by the state was distributed among residents. But this has often led to disputes over property rights as well as accusations of ethnic bias in land distribution.
Beleris, 51, says the case against him is an attempt by Prime Minister Edi Rama of the Socialist Party to maintain control over Himara and its potential for future lucrative property development.
Beleris was elected to the European Parliament from Greece’s ruling conservative party in June and was granted a five-day leave of absence from prison to attend the opening of the parliamentary session in Strasbourg.
