The Democratic Party’s request to extend by three months the deadline of the Territorial Reform Commission was rejected in Parliament, further deepening the clash between the opposition and the majority. After the vote, Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha presented the decision as proof of a unilateral withdrawal from the process and called on citizens to protest.
The vote in Parliament and the political clash
At Thursday’s session, the majority voted against the Democratic Party’s request to extend the commission’s deadline by three months. According to the published figures, 82 lawmakers voted against, while 27 voted in favor.
The vote, for now, closed the opposition’s request for more time to discuss territorial reform, an issue that for weeks has turned into another front of political confrontation in Parliament.
Berisha: with Rama there can be no reform
During a discussion on social media, Berisha said that with Edi Rama there can be no reform and accused the prime minister of driving the situation toward political confrontation.
According to Berisha, the opposition held Parliament for five hours, making territorial reform and the demands of the protesters outside Parliament its main issue. He claimed that the majority does not represent citizens, but interests linked to the use of public money and influence over the will of voters.
DP claims on the commission and its draft
Berisha said the Democratic Party had chosen to take part in the commission following requests from citizens in different parts of the country, arguing that it had to defend their interests in this process.
According to him, the DP representatives on the commission, led by Luçiano Boçi, had prepared a project for the next territorial reform, under which municipalities would not only avoid being reduced, but would increase in number, along with the creation of new communes in areas where this would be allowed by demographic changes.
Accusations of a unilateral closure of the process
In the opposition’s version, after broad political consultations, the prime minister withdrew from the territorial reform and unilaterally closed the work of the commission.
Berisha also claimed that the majority’s report was voted through unlawfully, mentioning Mazniku’s report as a document that, according to him, had not previously been presented to the commission. These are political accusations made by the DP leader, while no response from the majority appears to have been included in the same communication in this case.
Call for protest
Linking the development in Parliament to the broader political climate, Berisha said citizens should not leave territorial reform in Edi Rama’s hands.
He called on them to join the protest in Tirana, presenting it as a response to the way in which, according to the opposition, a process with direct impact on communities and the country’s administrative division is being closed.
The rejection of the request to extend the deadline leaves territorial reform as another flashpoint in the clashes between the sides, in a debate where the political versions remain deeply opposed.
Beyond the statements and accusations, the majority’s vote in Parliament once again showed that it has no intention of clearing the way for the opposition’s demands on this process.