
After midnight, the new law on the new Territorial Map was voted on, where after much controversy, opposition and debate, 85 deputies voted in favor. But what does this new Territorial Map consist of?
28 Municipalities are consolidated into 13 new municipalities, making the new structure consist of a total of 46 municipalities, 71 constituent cities and 387 administrative units.
The proposed model maintains the Municipality as the sole unit of local self-government, with a single mayor, council, administration, and budget. 13 Municipalities with a total population of approximately 225,000 inhabitants are merged with neighboring municipalities.
In Tirana County, the capital remains unchanged, but the other two municipalities, Kavaja and Rrogozhina, merge into a single one. The law also creates a new administrative unit, Rinas, which is included in the Municipality of Tirana, as part of the capital.
It is formed by the villages of Rinas (Krujë Municipality) and Bërxullë e Domje (Vorë Municipality), uniting into a single unit the territory of the "Mother Teresa" International Airport and the economic zone around it.
The Lezhë region also remains unchanged, while in Shkodër, Fushë-Arrëzi merges with Puka. There are also changes in the Berat region. From 5 municipalities, it becomes three, with Berat merging with Poliçan and Dimal, while Kuçova and Skrapar remain separate municipalities.
Elbasan is also being reduced in the number of municipalities. In addition to the merger of Përrenjas with Librazhd, which sparked the revolt of local residents, Elbasan itself is expected to become a large municipality by absorbing Belshi and Cerrik, while Peqin and Gramsh remain separate units.
The Fier region also undergoes changes, growing even more by merging with Patos, while Lushnja gains access to the sea by taking over Divjaka.
In the Dibër district, Klosi merges with Mati. The Gjirokastër district has bigger changes where Tepelena merges with Memaliaj, Përmet with Këlcyra, while Gjirokastër itself takes with it the Municipality of Libohova.
Vlora also takes part of Labëria by merging with Selenica. Despite the opposition, in the southeast the socialists are of the opinion that Maliqi should merge with Korça. The Kukës region, as the smallest unit in the country, remains unchanged with three municipalities, Kukës, Has and Tropojë.
The organizational model takes into account extreme distances, the presence of minorities, geographical continuity, road access, and the identity features of the territories.
For this reason, municipalities such as Pusteci, Finiqi, Dropulli, Tropoja, Hasi, Skrapar or Konispoli are preserved and treated as special cases, regardless of their financial and demographic indicators.