Mazniku: No municipality will be “dissolved”; with the territorial reform there is only merging

The socialist co-chair for territorial reform, Arbjan Mazniku, said in an interview for Euronews Albania that the new territorial map does not imply the dissolution of any municipality.

He explained that the territorial reform, expected to be voted on in the Assembly on October 8, is essentially about merging several municipalities in order to better administer services to citizens.

“This is a process that will continue with discussions in committee; on Monday there is the discussion in principle and then article by article. The public hearings have been held, the opinions have been gathered.

It is very important to tell the public as well that no municipality is dissolved; the concept of municipalities being dissolved is a wrong term that fuels part of the debate. Municipalities merge, two or three become part of one large municipality, the towns take a new status, they have their administrator, they have the town mayor with the role of the municipal mayor, they have their budgets; there is no dissolution of municipalities, there is merging of municipalities,” Mazniku said.