Parliament refers territorial reform to review, without completing public consultations

The Socialist Party’s draft law on territorial reform has been included in the Parliament’s agenda, although public consultations with communities and municipal councils have not yet concluded; the opposition calls this action a violation of the Constitution.

On Wednesday, the Committee for Legal Affairs reviewed the draft law “On the administrative-territorial division of local government units” brought by Socialist deputies, while hearings with local communities continue until the end of September.

The chairman of this committee, Ulsi Manja, did not allow a vote on the opposition’s request to return the initiative to the earlier stage of review and submission, so that the views coming from local communities could also be included.

He announced that the review in principle would continue until September 29, the deadline when the consultation process in the municipalities closes, and that afterwards, after these views are received, the draft will be put to a vote.

A parliamentary work calendar provides for a vote in the plenary session on October 8, as the Socialists have unilaterally decided to push forward the parliamentary procedure of this initiative, which proposes a reshaping of the country’s territorial map and a reduction of the number of municipalities from 61 to 46.

In the committee, the opposition opposed the inclusion of the SP initiative in the agenda, arguing that it was submitted in violation of legal and constitutional provisions, since the public consultations have been bypassed while still incomplete.

Luçiano Boçi, co-chair of the opposition in the bipartisan committee for this reform, requested that the draft be sent back and follow the constitutional path, because one cannot act in violation of the Constitution.

He added that hearings should first be closed and the opinion received, and then the draft returned to the committee, emphasizing that a unilateral reform without political and citizen support violates constitutional provisions.

Also, deputy Oerd Bylykbashi proposed that the Law Committee vote to return the draft law to the office of the Speaker of Parliament, so that the views derived from public consultations could be included in the document.

According to Bylykbashi, this initiative touches the foundations of the Constitution and the law requires that the population’s view be taken into consideration; he accused the majority of having started this procedure in violation of the law and of trying to sideline the voices of the communities.

Several other DP deputies drew attention to the fact that in the municipalities planned to be dissolved and merged with larger units, protests against the initiative take place every day and the municipal councils of these units have voted against the dissolution.

In protest, opposition deputies walked out of the committee meeting, where afterwards Arbjan Mazniku presented the initiative.

According to Mazniku, reducing the number of municipalities would provide more services to citizens.

Since the beginning of August, the SP proposal has been facing opposition from citizens in public hearings held in all municipalities of the country. In some smaller municipalities, this proposal has sparked daily protests, where residents oppose the dissolution of their unit into a larger municipality.

According to the draft, the municipalities of Fushë-Arrëz, Klos, Rrogozhinë, Dimal, Poliçan, Patos, Divjakë, Selenicë, Maliq, Këlcyrë, Memaliaj, Libohovë, Cërrik, Belsh and Prrenjas will lose their status as independent local self-government units and will merge with larger neighboring municipalities.

Specifically, Fushë-Arrëz will merge with Puka, Klos with Mat, Rrogozhina with Kavaja, Dimal and Poliçan with Berat, Patos with Fier, Divjaka with Lushnja, Selenica with Vlora, Maliq with Korça, Këlcyra with Përmet, Memaliaj with Tepelena, Libohova with Gjirokastra, Cërrik and Belsh with Elbasan, while Prrenjas will fall under the jurisdiction of Librazhd municipality.

The proposal preserves the municipality as the center of local organization, but changes its internal structure, moving from the “Municipality–Administrative Unit” formula to “Municipality–City–Administrative Unit”.

In each city, a deputy mayor responsible for coordinating services will be appointed, while municipal councils will be restructured to reflect the demographic weight of the cities that make up the municipality.

Meanwhile, the opposition has presented an alternative proposal that increases the number of municipalities from 61 to 100, aiming to decentralize public services and bring them closer to communities.