After approval in the committee, the legal initiative is expected to go to a vote in the plenary session on Thursday, where it needs 84 votes to be approved, which the Socialist Party secures with the 3 MPs of its ally, Tom Doshi's Social Democratic Party.
The new territorial map will have only 46 local units out of the 61 that are currently merging 15 municipalities with larger neighboring municipalities, as a measure that according to the proponents will strengthen their performance and guarantee better public services.
The committee review was strongly opposed by opposition MPs as an anti-constitutional draft law, demanding that their initiative for the new map, which proposes increasing the number of municipalities from 61 to 100, be reviewed in the Assembly.
"The Albanian Parliament is deliberately obstructing the opposition's legislative initiative, preventing it from being consulted and for the positions of communities and local governments to be expressed regarding this proposal," said Democratic MP Oerd Bylykbashi.
According to the opposition, the Socialists' goal is electoral and does not serve the interests of citizens, and will encourage further depopulation of the areas where local units will be merged.
The initiative was defended in the committee by Socialist MP Arbjan Mazniku, who argued that the new map will build stronger municipalities and that the new municipalities will have more capacity to exercise their functions.
Dozens of citizens from areas where local units are expected to be merged according to the new map protested on Monday outside the Parliament premises, demanding the cancellation of the socialist project for their municipalities.
The SP advanced its project for the new map after the bipartisan commission established by the Assembly to draft a territorial reform with political consensus failed to reach a common product.
The Socialists also ignored the conclusions of the positions in the public consultations held during August and September in local units, while protests have been organized in the expected municipalities to oppose the initiative.
With the new SP map, the municipalities of Fushë-Arrëz, Klos, Rrogozhinë, Dimal, Poliçan, Patos, Divjakë, Selenicë, Maliq, Këlcyrë, Memaliaj, Libohëvë, Cërrik, Belsh and Prrenjas lose their status as independent units of local self-government and merge with larger neighboring municipalities.
Specifically, Fushë-Arrëzi joins Puka, Klosi with Mati, Rrogozhina with Kavaja, Dimali and Poliçani with Berat, Patosi with Fier, Divjaka with Lushnja, Selenica with Vlora, Maliqi with Korça, Këlcyra with Përmet, Memaliaj with Tepelena, Libohova with Gjirokastra, Cërriku and Belshi with Elbasan, while Prrenjasi passes under the jurisdiction of the Librazhd municipality.
The proposed model aims to maintain the municipality as the center of local organization, but changes its internal organization from the “Municipality–Administrative Unit” scheme to “Municipality–City–Administrative Unit”.
Each city is expected to appoint a deputy mayor responsible for coordinating services, while municipal councils will be reorganized to reflect the demographic weight of the constituent cities./ BIRN
