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In Himara, property rights more important than Greek diplomatic disputes
Voters in southern Albania's Himara municipality on Sunday elected ruling Socialist Party candidate Vangjel Tavo as the new mayor after a political dispute that has lasted more than a year.
The dispute began in May 2023 when mayoral candidate Fredi Beleri was arrested two days before the previous local elections for alleged vote buying.
His arrest and subsequent conviction and imprisonment sparked a diplomatic row with Greece, with Athens threatening to block Albania's EU accession process, accusing it of violating the rule of law and violating minority rights. Greek in Himare.
The ruling party New Democracy of Greece even nominated the prisoner Beleri as a candidate in the last European Parliament elections. He won and is now an MEP. Albania allowed him to leave prison to go to Strasbourg to take his oath.
The diplomatic dispute brought unprecedented media attention to Himara. However, after new elections were held on Sunday following Beler's disqualification from the Albanian political race, the dispute with Athens was not the most important issue on the minds of local voters.
However, some were still angry about what they saw as Beler's unfair treatment. "From the moment that Fredi Beleri, elected by the people, was kidnapped (arrested), we did not expect anything from the Albanian state or from the government," Pano Dhimaleksi, 64, a merchant from Himara, told BIRN.
"Himara chose Fredi Beleri as mayor because we believed that he would be interested in protecting our properties and our rights... he was not afraid," added Dhimaleksi.
Albania has a known problem with property registration and land rights. This has continued since the fall of communism, when Albanian citizens did not have the right to own land or private property.
After 1991, legislation was passed to address people's right to own the land they lived on and the houses they lived in. But some laws, like the so-called controversial law 7501, caused more problems than solutions.
"The biggest problem here is private property," said Dhimaleksi.
He recalled that the center-right Democratic Party of Albania, led by Sali Berisha, had approved Law 7501 when it was in power. However, he added: "For me, all Albanian politicians from 1991 until today are to blame. In Albania, I do not separate the left from the right, they are the same."
Një tjetër vendas në Himarë, 50-vjeçari Kristo Karo, tha se kishte pasur probleme edhe për regjistrimin e pronës në emër të tij. Ai donte që kryebashkiaku i ri ta trajtonte këtë çështje si prioritet.
“Unë dua të zgjidhen çfarëdolloj problemi që kemi me tokën dhe shtëpitë tona. Jam 50 vjeç dhe nuk jam i regjistruar fare këtu në Himarë, as babai im 84 vjeç. Kaq dua, të regjistrohem si banor i Himarës”, tha Karo për BIRN.
Politikanët luajtën kartën e së drejtës së pronës gjatë fushatës, siç bëjnë shpesh përpara zgjedhjeve në Shqipëri.
Në maj, kryeministri socialist Edi Rama vizitoi Himarën për të mbështetur aleatin e tij socialist Vangjel Tavo përpara fillimit të fushatës zyrtare.
Rama dhe Tavo u dhanë 437 certifikata pronësie personave që kishin trashëguar prona, por që nuk kishin dokumentet ligjore për ta vërtetuar këtë.
“Shumë padrejtësi janë bërë me ligjin 7501”, tha Rama teksa shpërndante certifikatat. “Dhe kush thotë se pronat e himariotëve iu morën trashëgimtarëve të tyre dhe iu kaluan dikujt tjetër, ata thonë një gënjeshtër të madhe. Kjo nuk ka ndodhur kurrë”, këmbënguli ai.
Tavo dhe Rama thanë se objektivi i tyre ishte të jepnin 4,000 certifikata deri në fund të vitit.
Në zgjedhjet e së dielës, Tavo fitoi 5,022 vota ose 58.62 për qind të totalit dhe kandidati i opozitës Petro Gjikuria fitoi 3,545, sipas Komisionit Qendror të Zgjedhjeve. Të dy kandidatët janë grekë etnikë.
Tavo tha pas fitores se himariotët e meritojnë të jetojnë “në liri, harmoni dhe bashkëjetesë” dhe shtoi: “Himara është e të gjithëve”. Ai tha se si gjest bashkëpunimi po ftonte kandidatin e mundur Gjikuria të bëhej nënkryetari i tij.
Mes tensioneve politike në Himarë dhe mbi Himarën, më shumë njerëz dolën për të votuar të dielën sesa në maj 2023. Por disa nuk mundën të votonin sepse kartat e identitetit u kishin skaduar.
Opozita pretendoi se rreth 6,000 qytetarë nuk mund të ushtronin të drejtën e tyre të votës, pjesërisht për shkak se nuk iu dha informacioni i saktë për rinovimin e dokumenteve të tyre të identitetit.
Sipas censit të vitit 2023, në Himarë banojnë 8,328 persona. Megjithatë, mediat kanë raportuar se në bashki të drejtë vote kanë 23,130 persona.
Aktivistët qytetarë fajësuan Komisionin Qendror të Zgjedhjeve për problemet në ditën e votimit.
“Nga ajo që pamë dje në Himarë, njerëzit vinin për të votuar me karta të skaduara dhe nuk mund të votonin. Pra, nuk është se ka pasur mungesë vullneti nga ana e zgjedhësve për të votuar, apo se kanë neglizhuar rinovimin e kartave të tyre, por ka qenë mungesa e informacionit të mëtejshëm për votuesit e Himarës – një detyrë që është në radhë të parë përgjegjësi e Komisionit Qendror të Zgjedhjeve”, tha për BIRN Rigels Xhemollari, nga OJQ-ja Qëndresa Qytetare me qendër në Tiranë, e cila ka monitoruar zgjedhjet.
Xhemollari added that the authorities should be more flexible on this issue. "Of course, the opposition claims that the government or the state has done this by not acting", he noted, adding that the ruling party has not made any public statement about alleged voting problems.
The head of the opposition Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, meanwhile, condemned what he claimed was widespread voter disenfranchisement. "The exclusion from voting of hundreds and hundreds of citizens of Himara is an unconstitutional act", said Berisha.
However, the opposition has not yet said whether or not it will contest the election results in court./ BIRN
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