Bashkia

Bashkia is the Albanian word for a municipality, the local government unit responsible for a city or town and its surrounding areas. It functions as the lowest tier of formal political-administrative organization in Albania and is used in Albanian-language governance in Kosovo and North Macedonia as well. A bashki is governed by a mayor (kryetari i bashkisë) elected by residents and a municipal council (këshilli bashkiak) elected to enact local laws and oversee the administration. The council approves the budget and local regulations; the mayor executes policies and runs the civil service.

Most bashki are divided into administrative units or neighborhoods (njësi administrative), which help manage local affairs within the municipality. The system allows municipalities to provide services such as urban planning, construction and maintenance of local roads, water and sewerage in some areas, waste collection, social services, education support at the local level, culture, sports, and local economic development.

In 2015 Albania completed a territorial reform that reduced the number of municipalities to 61 and created administrative units to preserve local representation within larger entities. The exact structure and competences can vary by country and jurisdiction, as Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia adapt the concept to their own legal frameworks. Finance for bashki comes from the state budget, local taxes and fees, and occasionally international grants or loans; they are subject to national laws, audits, and reporting requirements.

Some well-known examples include Bashkia Tirane (the municipality governing Tirana) and Bashkia Durres, which oversee local services and development within their jurisdictions.