TIRANA, July 31 /ATA/ The co-chair of the Special Commission on Administrative-Territorial Reform, Arbjan Mazniku, shared details of the Socialist Party’s draft for reorganising the territorial map, stressing that the focus is on improving efficiency and bringing local government structures closer to European Union standards, rather than electoral interests.
Mazniku dismissed claims that the ruling majority’s proposed territorial changes were motivated by electoral interests, citing Elbasan as an example.
He said political considerations had played no role in the process, noting that the Socialist Party already controls 55 of the country’s 61 municipalities and that the changes would not alter its nationwide electoral position.
According to Mazniku, the reform is focused on making municipalities more efficient and improving the way local government operates.
“Taking Elbasan as an example, Cërrik and Belsh are also currently administered by the Socialist Party. In the last elections, the party received more than 56-57% of the vote in each of them. There is no electoral impact. However, merging these municipalities could increase the efficiency of using human and financial resources,” Mazniku said.
“The issue we are addressing systematically is how citizens in these areas can access services, implement projects and have greater opportunities for investment. It is quite simple: when planning a road, an irrigation or drainage system, a waste management plan or education infrastructure, we need capacity, staff and financial resources. These cannot be provided in an area with only 4,000 residents; it is simply impossible. It has been shown that around half of municipalities today are unable to deliver more than half of the functions assigned to them by law,” Mazniku said.
According to Mazniku, the aim of the reform is to ensure that all citizens receive services in an equal and effective manner.
“The Socialist Party’s consistent goal has been to ensure that all citizens across Albania have access to services that are delivered uniformly and efficiently, and we must provide municipalities with the tools to achieve this. Any other approach would require reducing the number of functions, because smaller municipalities cannot carry out all responsibilities assigned to them. Through consolidation, we have increased functionality, while through the concept of cities we keep services closer to people, preserve proportional representation and even strengthen operational structures,” Mazniku said.
He added that the concept of cities would apply not only to areas undergoing consolidation, but also to municipalities whose boundaries will remain unchanged.
“Krujë Municipality will not undergo territorial changes, except for a few square kilometres around Rinas, but it will include the city of Krujë and the city of Fushë-Krujë,” he said.
Mazniku said Mirditë Municipality would remain unchanged despite the discussions, as there was no viable option for a functional merger with another municipality.
“Today, Mirdita includes the cities of Rrëshen and Rubik. We cannot overlook the facts, but the analysis of regional links shows that Mirdita is too distant from other areas to be merged with another municipality, regardless of political affiliation,” he said.
He said that, for this reason, the proposal includes the creation of the cities of Rrëshen and Rubik, giving them greater functional autonomy, territorial representation and allocated representation quotas in the municipal council.
The Socialist Party’s proposal for the new territorial division envisages the merger of 15 municipalities. A total of 33 municipalities would remain unchanged, while 28 others would undergo changes. Counties would not be affected by the reform.
The proposal also introduces a new level of local governance, granting cities a special legal status and providing for a deputy mayor responsible for administrative coordination.
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