The Socialist Party majority is being accused of turning public hearings and consultations regarding the administrative-territorial reform into a fictitious and mocking process. The draft law on the new territorial map is expected to pass without consensus and be approved in the plenary session on Thursday, the 8th.
Despite the critical importance of this law for the functioning of local government and the rights of citizens, the official document of the Assembly (No. 4505 prot., dated October 1, 2026) obtained by VNA, reached the main independent institutions in the country only on Friday, October 2.
The follow-up of the draft law "On the administrative-territorial division of local government units in the Republic of Albania" has been addressed to institutions such as the Ombudsman, the Supreme State Audit Office, the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, the Central Election Commission, the Commissioner for Supervision of the Civil Service and the Committee for National Minorities.
This means that these constitutional and independent institutions have only 3 working days available — from Monday to Wednesday — to analyze the draft law in detail, draft and submit their technical and legal opinions before the vote takes place on Thursday.
The tight deadlines and the lack of a real space for substantive debate confirm the falsity of the consultation process. This approach of the majority proves that the hearings are simply a formal procedure "just to get the ball rolling", bypassing expert opinion and approving the reform without the necessary consensus.
