Belsh municipal council votes against merger with Elbasan

Belsh said no to merging with Elbasan, but the fiercest debate in the Municipal Council was not about the result — it was about the way the vote was conducted.

The seven Democratic Party councillors voted against the reform, while the ten Socialist Party councillors chose to abstain. Although the proposal failed to win support, the Socialists’ vote was accompanied by clashes of arguments in the chamber.

Councillors from both sides defended their positions, arguing that Belsh — with its tourism potential and the characteristics it meets as a local unit — should continue to self-govern.

Civil society representatives also took part in the session, opposing the merger with Elbasan and presenting arguments linked to the population and the criteria that, in their view, support Belsh’s continuity as a separate municipality.

In contrast to the debates inside the council chamber, outside it there was a notable lack of civic engagement. Public consultations on the reform were called twice and failed on both occasions, while citizens’ opinions were gathered only from a limited number of participants at the meeting held in the town.