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Albania Himara Mayor
FILE - Fredis Beleris listens to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during their meeting at Maximos Mansion in Athens, Monday, July 15, 2024. Albanians in the southwestern town of Himara are to vote Sunday for a new mayor after their previous choice, Fredis Beleris, a member of the country's ethnic Greek minority, was stripped of his title, convicted and imprisoned on vote-buying charges in what he and neighboring Greece have claimed was a politically motivated case. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)

Albania's governing Socialist Party wins mayoral poll in a town with ethnic Greek minority

Preliminary results show Albania's governing Socialist Party candidate Vangjel Tavo has won the mayoral election in the southwestern town of Himara

By LLAZAR SEMINI
Published - Aug 05, 2024, 01:45 AM ET
Last Updated - Aug 05, 2024, 01:45 AM EDT

QEPARO, Albania (AP) — Preliminary results Monday showed Albania's governing Socialist Party candidate Vangjel Tavo won the mayoral election in the southwestern town of Himara after the previous mayor was removed in a case that has sparked tensions with Greece.

Results at the Central Election Commission showed Tavo won 58.62% of Sunday's votes, while 41.38% went to Petraq Gjikuria from the Together We Win 10-party coalition that includes the main opposition’s center-right Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the left-wing Freedom Party of former President Ilir Meta.

The early election was held in Himara, 220 kilometers (135 miles) southwest of the capital, Tirana, after the previous mayor, Fredis Beleris was stripped of his title, convicted and imprisoned on vote-buying charges. He and neighboring Greece have claimed his conviction was politically motivated. Albanian officials strongly reject those claims, citing the independence of the judiciary.

Beleris and the two mayoral candidates are members of the local ethnic Greek minority.

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