While the deadline of an ad hoc parliamentary commission set up in January 2014 expired this week failing to produce an outcome because of the opposition’s boycott, the majority has proposed some changes to the composition of the commission which give the governing coalition one more member in order to be able to approve the reform on its own if the opposition continues its boycott.
TIRANA, April 24 – The opposition Democratic Party has warned of a series of nationwide anti-government protests against what it calls a unilateral and arbitrary administrative and territorial reform that the ruling Socialist Party-led coalition intends to adopt on its own ahead of next year’s local elections.
The warning issued by Democratic Party leader and Tirana Mayor Lulzim Basha comes after the ruling coalition, which already has a qualified majority of 84 votes, has made it clear it will move on to adopt the reform on its own, accusing the opposition of preventing an important reform which is expected to save the state budget USD 80 million by cutting the number of local government units.
Speaking in a recent meeting with locally elected officials, Basha who is also the head of the Association of Municipalities, described the majority’s invitation for consensus as a facade whose goal was to gain electoral advantage in next year’s local elections. He warned only the acceptance of consensus could withdraw the opposition from its battle of protests on the streets and squares.
While the deadline of an ad hoc parliamentary commission set up in January 2014 expired this week failing to produce an outcome because of the opposition’s boycott, the majority has proposed some changes to the composition of the commission which give the governing coalition one more member in order to be able to approve the reform on its own if the opposition continues its boycott.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has made it clear that the reform cannot wait endlessly and will conclude with this session of the parliament until next July.
“A new administrative territorial reform will undoubtedly strengthen the economy, strengthen communities from a social point of view and give a further chance to the culture of living together in this country,” Prime Minister Rama has said.
“Much more can be done with the same financing resources just by changing a number of internal territorial and administrative borders,” he added.
The government of Albania has set the administrative and territorial reform as a priority to be accomplished before the 2015 local elections.
The relatively high number and small size of most local government units in a country with a relatively small area coupled with concerns of efficiency and quality of service provision has increasingly been considered as a serious obstacle to local governance and development.
The current administrative and territorial division of Albania resulted in the creation of very small local government units with limited resources and assets, which make it difficult to provide quality services to the citizens. The need for a new division has been identified by several organizations during the last decade, including the OSCE.
“The reform should comply with the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and, in particular, must guarantee the political, administrative and financial independence of local governments. It is essential to ensure that the decision-making process for this reform be transparent, inclusive and consensual,” Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Florian Raunig has earlier said.
Former PM urges protests
“Protest, protest, everybody in protest” wrote former Prime Minister Sali Berisha on his Facebook profile on Thursday, denouncing what his described as a clique of oligarchs led by Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Socialist Movement for Integration ally, Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta.
He also denounced legal changes to the High Inspectorate of Declaration and Audit of Assets which strip the president of nominating its head. The latest protest staged by the opposition Democratic Party was held on February 20, 2014, which marked the 23th anniversary of the toppling of ex-dictator Hoxha’s statue from the capital’s central square. The opposition accused the new government of failing to keep its electoral promises on taxes and employment and politically motivated dismissals in the public administration.
