Today he was appointed prefect of Vlora, is Vangjel Tavo in negotiations with Rama for the management of Himara municipality?

With the signature of Prime Minister Edi Rama, Vangjel Tavo was appointed the prefect of the Vlora district today. The latter was previously a deputy of LSI (today PL) and Minister of Health (2012-2013).

Tavo's name was also mentioned at the beginning of this year, after the publication of an article by the Greek media 'Kathimerini', which wrote that there was a meeting between him and Prime Minister Edi Rama to temporarily run the Municipality of Himara, which follows to be without a mayor, as its elected mayor Fredi Beleri is in prison.

According to the Greek media, Tavo agreed in principle, but asked to ask the Greek side about this issue.

However, Tavo himself at the time denied that he was contacted by the prime minister to temporarily lead the Municipality of Himara.

" There is nothing true in the Greek news. I have no desire to engage in politics anymore " - said Tavo.

However, despite the stance taken three months ago, it appears that today's appointment of Tavos has raised serious doubts about the Greek med's warning. 

Freddy Beleri in prison

Elected by the votes of the citizens, the mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, was arrested on May 12, 2023. He is accused of the criminal offense of "active corruption in elections, carried out in collaboration".

The Special Court for Corruption and Organized Crime decided on Monday, March 5, to declare the elected mayor of the Municipality of Himara, Fredi Beleri, guilty of active corruption in the elections and sentenced him to 2 years in prison.

The full text of Kathimerini :

On the eve of Christmas, the former minister and deputy of Dropulli for many years, Vangel Tavo, a prominent member of the Greek minority and a private doctor, received a call from Edi Rama, who asked them to meet for a "coffee" at Tirana. 

Tavo, originally from Georgoutsates, accepted the invitation, although their relationship had soured after he left the Socialist Party to join forces with Ilir Meta in founding the LSI party. 

In the middle of December, there was another phone call between Rama and Tavo, this time on a human level, about an unpleasant event, namely the death of his daughter in a car accident. However, their relations remained "frozen".

Despite this, Rama and Tavo met in a well-known cafe in the Albanian capital, and there the Albanian Prime Minister, after expressing his desire to end the stalemate with Athens, allegedly asked him for help in this regard, taking it upon himself to be mayor of Himara for 6 months. 

As Tavo's colleagues report, Rama explained to him that during his term as mayor, the trial will end and if Beler is declared innocent, he will take the post of mayor, otherwise, new elections will be announced in the Municipality of Himara.

Tavo did not reject the proposal and is said to have stated that he would be willing to help alleviate the situation. However, he made it clear that he would only accept it if it was accepted by the Greek side, while emphasizing that he will not sign any decision or document that may be related to the Greek properties of Himara.

Always according to what the experienced member of the Greek minority told his close associates, Rama did not reject his reasoning and then Tavo informed the Greek government, but the information said that the case remains open, since in Athens it is said that no has been officially announced by the Albanian side.

Government sources in Athens affirmed at the same time that "the person who will be elected cannot be from the Rama environment, but must be as close as possible to the positions of the minority", while they did not rule out that this person is Tavo., showing that they have not received relevant information from Tirana. Apparently, the Albanian side is trying to find a solution to the Beleri issue without Beleri, targeting other minorities beyond Tavo, while the detained mayor's side is trying to burn any scenario in this direction.

In this context, the information about the resignation of the acting mayor and Edi Rama's chosen one, Giorgos Goros, which he denied, is interpreted. At the same time, there was a statement from Beleri from the prison that the acting mayor should come out only from his winning vote, a position with which Athens seems to agree, but the Albanian side rejects it.

Point of return

Now everyone agrees that the "Beleri issue" is at the most delicate and critical stage and deep down they do not rule out a dead end. Therefore, behind the scenes, on both sides, decompression valves are being sought, with the eye fixed on the judicial process that is taking place in the special court of Tirana, which, on Thursday, overturned the request of Beler's defense to change the security measure in the arrest domestic