Denada Jushi
The 2014 territorial reform was designed with the promise of bringing less spending and more efficiency. 11 years later, according to politicians, analysts and experts, this reform did not have the expected effect.
Thus, yesterday the new Parliament voted, with the union of two major forces, on two parliamentary committees, one of which was on Territorial Reform.
Two co-chairs, one from the SP and one from the DP, will meet to draft and discuss the new reform.
115 deputies voted for the Territorial Reform, 3 against and zero abstentions.
Changes in the territorial division in Albania date back to the late 20s.
Then, during communism, they were changed, bringing in prefectures, districts, and localities. Again, during communism, there was a merger of villages, cities, and then districts.
After the collapse of the system and the calming of the situation, in 1992, the territorial reform changed again, this time more pluralistic. The administrative and territorial units were now considered municipalities, communes, districts and prefectures.
In 2014, the opposition began a boycott of the Territorial Reform, a boycott that continued all the way to Parliament.
According to expert Selami Xhepa, the changes made in the 2014 reform are not considered successful, even though the majority considered it so, while the DP calls it a failure.
Another reform that has seen changes over the decades has been electoral reform, a process that is subject to reform almost annually, with the Electoral Code having undergone over 6 amendments enacted by law since its entry into force in 2008. This reform will also be overseen by the new commission.
The deputies voted with 113 votes in favor, 3 against and no abstentions for the election, while Agron Shehaj, Erald Kapri and Redi Muçi were left out. The deputies of the new parties opposed this commission, claiming that the big parties want to "destroy" the new parties.
Albania has used a number of electoral systems since the 90s:
The majoritarian system, the mixed system and the regional proportional system.
The latest to be used in the May 11 elections was a new electoral system that included a combination of closed and open lists. About a third of the candidate list is closed and the names are fixed by the mayor, while the other two-thirds are open.
But apparently, even this version has not suited the political parties, which are getting ready for other changes.
The SP leader did not rule out the possibility of changing the electoral system for this commission. He said that this possibility would also be discussed.
According to the commission, this time the focus is also on party financing, a problem that continues to remain in Albanian politics.
Reform, reform, reform, this has undoubtedly been Albania's anthem in recent decades. However, EU progress reports still show much room for improvement in key reforms in the country, from justice to the fight against corruption and organized crime and continuing to transparency in party and media financing.
Asset confiscation is still an area where much work is needed. There are also shortcomings in public administration, media pluralism, local governance and decentralization.
So the reform commissions will probably continue in addition to electoral and territorial reform.
