Home Community Omonia and KEAD in Albania announce new mayoral candidate for Himare

Omonia and KEAD in Albania announce new mayoral candidate for Himare

THESSALONIKI –

The ‘Omonia’ organization of the ethnic Greek minority of Albania and the Party Union of Human Rights (KEAD) announced on Thursday they will jointly support Petros Gikourias as candidate mayor for Himare in the repeat elections on August 4.

Mayor-elect Fredi Beleri, who has been detained since May 2023 allegedly for voter fraud, was formally deposed by the Central Election Commission earlier this week. His detention has been continuously and widely protested by Greece.

A joint Omonia and KEAD statement said that Gikourias, the new candidate, originates from the village Dhërmi (Drymades) in the Himare area and is a businessman in the food sector in the United States. Besides being supported by Beleri’s party KEAD, he is also supported by the Albanian opposition parties with which KEAD and Omonia have allied in Himare.

In an online statement, Gikourias said he accepted the candidacy as a means to contribute to this country. His opponent for the mayoral seat will be the Socialist Party’s candidate, an ethnic Greek from Dropull (Dropolis) and former minister and deputy, Vangelis Tavos.

Beleri was elected to the European Parliament under Greece’s ruling New Democracy party. It is unknown whether the Albanian government, which prevented Beleri from being sworn in as mayor, will allow him attend the Europarliament’s first session in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

[ANA-MPA]