Ambassadors support reform
23/04/2014 00:00
Protest in front of the Albanian Parliament against the new budget ends prematurely 19/11 21:20
One day after the opposition reiterated their refusal to be part of the
new local government territory division, the ambassadors and
representatives of the most important international institutions sat
with government representatives to get informed about the progress.
In this table organized by the OSCE, the Minister for Local Government, Bledi Cuci, informed them about the technical steps on the new territorial division. The diplomats greeted the work done so far and focused their interest on the matter if the territorial reform would affect the electoral one. But more than that, appearing with the government was a message for the continuity of the process.
Top Channel sources from the meeting declared that some important ambassadors have supported the reform, while they have been guaranteed by the government.
“The Parliamentary majority will not do anything to affect the electoral system or matters that are related to the elections. The territorial-administration reform will focus only on reorganizing the territory”, Minister Cuci declared.
Top Channel: Did the ambassadors have any objections regarding the fact that the majority was shown determined to continue the territorial reform alone?
Çuçi: This concern wasn’t mentioned at all. I guaranteed the ambassadors that the reform has been led by technical and professional criteria. I can guarantee you that there was no such concern.
Florian Raunig, Head of the OSCE in Albania: This is a very important reform that has been mentioned for a long time. It is time to start with the reform, and everyone must be part of the process. It is not good that one part is outside.
Top Channel: Can the territorial reform be considered divided from the electoral one?
Raunig: The territorial reform is the territoroal reform. The electoral reforms need to be analyzed. It doesn’t mean that territorial reforms should implicate electoral reforms. That’s why parties should sit and talk with each other.
The meeting of the ambassadors with government representatives comes one day before the session in which the Parliament will vote the amends made to the functionality of the Territorial Reform Commission. The ruling party will have the majority to unblock the situation and keep working. The deadline for the work is two months.
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