The debate over territorial reform was accompanied by tensions in the Legal Affairs Committee, where the clash between Democratic Party MP Xhelal Mziu and Socialist MP Zegjine Çaushi shifted the discussion from procedure to political accusations and personal irony.
The opposition’s request to merge the two initiatives
During the committee meeting, Xhelal Mziu requested that the two filed initiatives on territorial reform be reviewed together. The request came amid a broader debate over how the discussion is being managed in the committee.
Procedural issues remained in the background, as the majority’s reaction focused on the opposition’s previous stance rather than on a broader explanation of the reasons for the refusal.
Çaushi: the opposition boycotted the committee for four months
Zegjine Çaushi opposed Mziu’s request, claiming that opposition MPs had boycotted the committee’s work for four months and could not now return to change the order of review.
She accused them of blocking the work and of using the committee as a space for political rhetoric. According to her, merging the two initiatives could not be accepted under these conditions and the chair had to continue with the agenda.
Exchange with personal tones during the meeting
Tensions escalated further when Çaushi addressed Mziu personally, telling him that if territorial reform had really been a concern for him, he should not have been absent from the committee for months. At the height of the debate, she also used irony, saying that he had gone to the beach and slept at home before returning to demand the merger of the initiatives.
At that point, Ulsi Manja also intervened, addressing Çaushi with a comment on her statement about the “beach,” making the atmosphere in the room even more heated.
Mziu’s response to the majority
For his part, Xhelal Mziu responded with irony toward the Socialist MP, saying that when Zegjine Çaushi gives advice in all fields, this is being presented as a high standard that, according to him, is also being imposed on the committee.
Mziu asked that the committee be guided by the implementation of the law and not by what he called the MP’s personal recommendations. The clash once again highlighted that the discussion on territorial reform is taking place in a strongly political climate, where procedure is often overshadowed by party rhetoric.
The debate in the Legal Affairs Committee showed once again that issues of institutional weight such as territorial reform are unfolding amid political clashes and personal comments, while the substance of the discussion risks remaining in the shadows.
In the version made public from the meeting, there does not appear to have been agreement on merging the two initiatives requested by the opposition.