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"Kathimerini": Athens raises doubts about the result of the elections in Himara

Politiko 2024-08-06 10:23:26

"Kathimerini": Athens raises doubts about the result of the elections

Athens is indirectly but clearly questioning the election results of Sunday's municipal election runoff for the municipality of Himara in South Albania, after serious doubts were raised by members of the Greek ethnic minority, writes eKathimerini.

The victory of Vangjel Tavo, chosen by Prime Minister Edi Rama, was expected with 58.62%, against 41.38% of Petraq Gjikuri. However, it was accompanied by complaints from the Greek minority about the manipulation of the voter list and the denial of the right to vote to thousands of Himarjo citizens under the pretext of the expiration of their identity cards.

More specifically, opposition groups reported that some 6,000 voters were unable to vote due to expired ID cards, a situation exacerbated by the lack of provisions for extending ID cards, unlike in previous elections.

Athens has raised the issue of Tirana's respect for the European acquis, while diplomatic sources emphasize that the democratic principle and the European acquis compel the Albanian authorities to evaluate and respond to all reports related to the integrity of the electoral process.

"The complaints made by the members of the Greek ethnic minority in Albania about the conditions in which the by-elections were held in the municipality of Himara, especially about the change in the population of the electorate and the denial of the constitutional right to vote to thousands of citizens under the pretext of expiration of their identity cards, raise serious doubts about the integrity of the process" , said Greek diplomatic sources.

The connection of Albania's European perspective with the way the government in Tirana respects the basic principles (or not) of the acquis communautaire is an indirect reference for the future assessment of the chapters related to Tirana's accession negotiations with the EU.

Fredi Beleri, the city's previously elected mayor and a member of the ethnic Greek minority, was removed from office, convicted of vote-buying and imprisoned. Both he and Athena have claimed that the case was politically motivated.

It is not known what the future will bring, but many in Athens believe that, even after Beleri's inevitable release, Greece must take a principled stand.

And this despite the fact that the current circumstances require the saving of diplomatic capital, due to the parallel development of the crisis with North Macedonia.

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