Athens closely following local polls

TIRANA, May 16 – Α Greek foreign ministry spokesman last week was queried over the local elections in neighboring Albania. In response, Grigoris Delavekouras merely noted that “Greece is closely monitoring municipal and local community elections in Albania, particularly, in the regions with a large ethnic Greek minority… In general, last Sunday’s vote was held smoothly,” he said, while nevertheless noting that “there were certain irregularities and violent incidents recorded.” Referring to the ethnic Greek minority in southern Albania, Delavekouras underlined that this community’s participation was increased, “proving that the ethnic Greeks of Albania preserve strong ties with their birthplace and care about its prosperity.” It should be noted that the ethnic Greek minority representative Vasil Bollano lost the race in the southwestern port town of Himara. The main opposition Socialist party representative won. That was a setback for the ethnic Greek minority’s political groupings.