The elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, has been officially announced as the candidate of the ruling Greek party New Democracy for the upcoming European elections.

Beleri’s brother, Leonardos Beleri, is representing him in announcing the vote in central Athens, as Fredi Beleri is currently in custody, Greek media reported.

Other candidates include current New Democracy MEPs, Greek journalists Giorgos Aftias and Eleonora Meleti and former weightlifter Pirro Dhima.

In his message, transmitted through his brother, Fredi Beleri says:

“Today, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis offered me the opportunity to ask for the vote of the Greek people in the European elections of June 2024. I thank him for that, but above all I thank him for the undivided support he gave me during all these months when I was in prison. The battle I am fighting is not personal. It is a battle for the rule of law and democracy, the rules of which must be respected by all. It is a battle for the values ​​that the West and Europe represent and which must be respected by those who want to join the great European family. It is a battle for the most suffering and unjust part of Hellenism, the Greek minority of Albania. My brothers who, after decades of oppression, want and have the right to live freely and peacefully, without fear, in a country that respects their rights, honor and their property. I call on every Greek and woman to support the New Democracy vote, to support Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is building a strong and proud Greece with determination and method,” it is said in Beleri’s message.