‘Territorial Reform’/ 15 Councilors Warn They Will Resign, Poliçan Mayor: It Will Be a Shame for Parliament if It Votes in Favor of the Merger

The Poliçan Municipal Council held an emergency meeting today. The meeting, chaired by Municipal Council Chairwoman Mimoza Lulaj, was held to oppose the proposal to change the administrative-territorial division. During the meeting, all 15 councilors voted against the bill providing for the dissolution of the Municipality of Poliçan and its merger with Berat.

Also present at the meeting was Poliçan Mayor Adriatik Zotkaj, who said that the reasons presented by the Socialist Party for dissolving the municipality did not stand up. He stressed that if Parliament votes in favor of dissolving the municipality, it will be a shame.

According to him, the residents of Poliçan have spoken out against merging with Berat. Zotkaj also cited the municipality’s economic activity among his arguments, stressing that 318 businesses currently operate in Poliçan, while the area has potential for mountain and industrial tourism. The mayor also emphasized that changing a municipality’s status must be done with the consent of the community.

During the meeting, the councilors were also presented with the report of the commission established to conduct public hearings with citizens. According to the report, residents expressed their opposition and indignation over the proposal to dissolve the municipality, describing it as unjust.

At the end of the discussions, the 15 municipal councilors declared that they would resign if Parliament approved the dissolution of the Municipality of Poliçan. The bill on the Administrative-Territorial Division, which provides for the merger of Poliçan with Berat, was then put to a vote and rejected by 15 votes against.