Mazniku Explains Socialist Party’s Proposal for 46 Municipalities: We Sought a Territorial Change Only for Rinas; Poliçan Will Benefit from Merger with Berat

Arbjan Mazniku, co-chair of the Territorial Reform Commission, presented the arguments and methodology behind the Socialist Party’s proposal to reduce the number of municipalities from 61 to 46 during a meeting with journalists today.

Mazniku began the discussion by criticizing the opposition, which he blamed for delaying the commission’s work, even though the deadline set for completing the process was nine months.

“The opposition did not attend for the first four months, and another month was spent on the schedule of discussions. Some of the tasks the commission was supposed to complete were not carried out because the opposition systematically took up a great deal of time. The deadline has been nine months since the commission was established, and this was known,” he said.

In explaining the initiative, Mazniku assured that the towns slated to be merged with larger local government units would not lose any services. He also addressed the concerns of Poliçan residents, who protested yesterday against the merger with Berat.

“No services will be removed from the area. Poliçan’s merger with Berat will bring greater development to Poliçan. We will preserve all of its existing elements—the office, the logo, everything—but it will benefit from this transition,” Mazniku said.

Regarding Rinas, he clarified that it is the only case in which a territorial change has been requested, while also outlining the reasons behind the proposal.

“Rinas is the only case where we proposed a territorial change because Tirana is the biggest beneficiary of what Rinas generates. The roads leading from Rinas require greater maintenance because of the airport. This is being done to provide opportunities for that area and to balance those who benefit with those who bear the costs,” he explained.

Mazniku denied that the proposal had been influenced by political calculations, emphasizing that moving these municipalities would not change the result nationwide and that the objective was to improve how they function.

“The political element has not entered into this discussion at all. Moving these municipalities does not affect the result at the national level. It is clear that the aim is to increase the efficiency of these municipalities,” Mazniku said.