TIRANA, Oct 8 /ATA/ Socialist Party MP and Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs and Public Administration, Ulsi Manja, said on Thursday that the procedure followed for drafting and proposing changes to the administrative-territorial map is in line with the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of Parliament.
Speaking in Parliament, Manja said the initiative submitted by a group of Socialist Party MPs on 30 July builds on the work of the Special Commission on Territorial Reform and seeks to fulfil the electoral commitment to Territorial Reform 2.0.
He argued that the draft law had been prepared in accordance with Articles 68 and 69 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, as well as Article 81 of the Constitution, which grants MPs the right to propose legislative initiatives.
Referring to Constitutional Court Decision No. 19, dated 15 April 2015, on the administrative-territorial reform, Manja stressed that Parliament has the authority to decide on changes to the boundaries of local government units, while the Constitution requires the prior consultation of the population affected by such changes.
According to him, seeking the views of communities does not mean obtaining their consent, while opposition from residents does not automatically prevent Parliament from approving territorial changes.
Manja also stressed that public consultation must be genuine and documented, giving affected communities the opportunity to express their views.
In this context, he said that the requests of the municipalities of Malësi e Madhe, Vau i Dejës, Kurbin, Mat and Kavajë had been taken into account during the consideration of the initiative.
As a result of the consultations, according to Manja, the number of towns envisaged in the initial proposal increased from 71 to 77, which, he said, demonstrates that the public consultation was not merely a formality, but a genuine process.
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