DP demands the withdrawal of the Territorial Reform, Berisha: Let us go to a referendum! Balla: It will be voted on

From the Parliament rostrum, Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha called on the majority to withdraw the draft law and proposed that a referendum be held on the new territorial map. He asked that citizens be asked directly about the reform and proposed that the referendum be held on two variants.

“If a nanogram remains in the depths of your mouldy conscience, throw out this draft as a draft hostile to the citizens. A draft that no Albanian citizen would vote for. Throw it out and let us decide today to go to a referendum, to ask the citizens about a major process that above all concerns their lives where they are, their services, the future and development of communities. Let us go to a referendum with 2 variants and let us sanction here the variant the citizens vote for,” Berisha said.

Freedom Party MP Tedi Blushi also demanded the withdrawal of the draft law, describing it as a reform that aims, according to him, at the “depopulation” and “undoing of Albania”.

“We ask you to withdraw the criminal, depopulating project that you have supposedly served up as a territorial reform. This session today has only one agenda and that agenda is the urgent withdrawal of this criminal project that aims to undo Albania. There can be no normal parliamentary session when this Parliament has been taken hostage by the mafia,” Blushi said.

The majority, on the other hand, has not backed down. The head of the Socialist Party parliamentary group, Taulant Balla, declared that the draft law will be discussed and voted on in today’s session.

Balla said the Socialists received the citizens’ consent for the reform through the elections of 11 May 2025, referring to the 83 mandates won by the SP.

“We received the consent of Albanian citizens on 11 May 2025 because this point was the first point of our ‘Albania 2030’ programme. The citizens gave us 83 mandates to carry this reform forward. My invitation today is not that we should not discuss. We will discuss and vote on this item of the agenda,” Balla said.

He called on the opposition to engage in the discussion on the powers of local government units, proposing the establishment of a Special Commission for the Territorial Reform.

“My invitation is that you respond to the offer and that next Thursday we jointly establish the Special Commission for the Territorial Reform for the part concerning powers. You have 1 week to think and come forward on the powers part; this one will be voted on today. Think it over until next Thursday, get your proposals ready,” Balla declared.