Albania’s Territorial Reform to Cut Municipalities to 46

territorial reform municipality merger Albania Socialist Party local government

The governing Socialist Party of Albania has unveiled a draft reform that would reduce the country’s 61 municipalities to 46 by merging 15 of them. The plan creates a new administrative unit called a “city” within each municipality and lists specific towns slated for consolidation, such as Dimal, Poliçan, and Përrenjas.

Opposition parties have reacted strongly. Democratic Party leader Eno Bozdo in Berat condemned the proposal as a maneuver to reshape the electoral map, while former Democratic Party chief Sali Berisha argued that Albania should retain at least 100 municipalities to improve services and curb population growth. Residents of Poliçan staged a protest, burning Socialist Party flyers and demanding that their municipality remain independent.

A Council of Europe report on local governance warned that Albania’s public services are overly centralized and recommended further decentralisation rather than reducing the number of municipalities. The government, however, maintains that many local units lack the capacity to deliver services on their own.

Entities: Albania · Albanian Government · Albanian Parliament · Council of Europe · Democratic Party of Albania · Local municipalities · Sali Berisha · Socialist Party (PS) · Socialist Party of Albania

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[○ 1 SOURCE] Former Prime Minister Sali Berisha advocated for a minimum of 100 municipalities in Albania to improve services and curb population growth. (Article 3679efe8)
[● 3 SOURCES] The Socialist Party of Albania proposed a territorial reform that would reduce the number of municipalities from 61 to 46 by merging 15 municipalities. (Supported by articles 7dfe5494, 365e9baa, fcbde6ea)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Socialist Party’s draft lists the municipalities Fushe‑Arrëz, Klos, Rrogozhinë, Dimal, Poliçan, Patos, Divjakë, Selenicë, Maliq, Këlcyrë, Memaliaj, Libohovë, Cërrik, Belsh and Përrenjas for merger (Article 365e9baa)
[○ 1 SOURCE] A Council of Europe report warned that Albania’s public services are overly centralized and recommended further decentralisation rather than reducing municipalities. (Article 96799060)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The proposed reform includes creating a new administrative level called “city” inside each municipality. (Article 7dfe5494)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Residents of Poliçan protested the planned merger of their municipality, burning Socialist Party flyers. (Article a45449f4)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Democratic Party leader Eno Bozdo opposed the Socialist proposal to reduce municipalities, saying it serves only electoral interests. (Article 9645efdd)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Albanian government argued that some municipalities lack capacity to administer services independently. (Article 96799060)