Reflecting About the Last Territorial and Administrative Reform in the Republic of Albania

Author: Besnik Aliaj
Affiliation: Polis University

Abstract
All political parties recognized the need for the territorial and administrative reform that was drafted between 2013 and 2015, and there have generally been no reservations about it. In order to provide Albania, the chance to perform to its full potential in this aspect, such atmosphere galvanized high expectations from the public opinion and garnered a signifcant lot of support from donors. The opposition at the time decided to withdraw for recognized reasons and did not participate in the process. In these circumstances, territorial consolidation and the number of municipalities dominated the public and political discourse, while the governance structure and the division of powers at the central-local level received little attention. These reforms proceed through iterative cycles until a social and political balance is achieved, as evidenced by experiences from other nations/countries. The current outcome of this reform in Albania after six years of implementation enables us to evaluate what has been accomplished thus far. What action is necessary now? In my opinion, the Reform is not "black and white." Of course, there have been some successes; any changes should not seek to undo or start over, but rather to rectify and improve in accordance with the needs of the nation, economy, and communities. Without getting into specifcities of data...