Campaign with posters and promises, former Keneta, the neighborhood that politics keeps "flooded"

In the May 11 elections, Durrës remained the arena of dominance of the major parties, a predictable race with the unchanged result (as four years ago) of 8 mandates for the SP and 6 for the DP.

The major parties dominated with electoral office spaces throughout the city, with posters, support groups, and organized meetings, while the candidates of the smaller parties were supported mainly by family sources.

But far from the atmosphere of colorful posters, electoral offices, and successive promises, on the outskirts of the city, one of the largest neighborhoods, the former Këneta, continues to face the same problems from election to election and unfulfilled promises.

Neighborhoods no. 14, 15 and 17 of unit no. 6 of Durrës, known as the former Këneta, are home to nearly 40 thousand residents, most of whom settled decades ago from the north of the country.

On May 11, only 10,000 of them turned out to vote, a low turnout that indicates more fatigue than hope.

In this area, the main problem related to flooding has become a daily occurrence. Residents complain that after every intense rainfall, the streets fill with water and the yards flood.

Manholes and open canals stand above the level of homes, making damage inevitable. The latest flood on January 30 affected hundreds of homes, but residents say they have not yet received any compensation.

“We ourselves have built the roads between the neighborhoods with our own hands,” says Ramiz Miha, a resident from Dibra who has lived in the area for 20 years. “At least keep the promise about the canals, because we have been hearing promises for 20 years in a row.”

Even in the May 11 election campaign, promises focused on canal systems and paving roads between neighborhoods.

"We have been hearing the same promises for 20-odd years and yet we continue to be flooded," Simon Lleshaj, whose apartment was recently flooded, told Faktoje.

The problem of flooding was also raised by Safije Hyko and Qamile Bufi, residents of the area whom Faktoje contacted.

Women standing along the neighborhood alley complained that flooding here has become common.

"Every time it rains heavily, we keep our eyes on the sky because we are afraid that the water will flood and engulf yards and homes," said Safije Hyko.

The municipality said the area has been flooded twice in the last 10 years, and is in the process of assessing the damage. 

 "The Municipality of Durrës is in the evaluation and review phase for financial treatment of affected citizens according to the budget possibilities or conditional fund transfers," the institution explained. While the Municipality continues to deal with the damage assessment, the problem remains

While problems in neighborhoods like the former Këneta recur every year, the Durrës election campaign showed a different reality, a campaign where the major parties left no room for competition.

The Socialist Party retained its 8 mandates, with over 70 thousand votes (52%), while the PD-ASHM coalition received over 53 thousand votes (39%), but lost ground compared to the previous elections, a decrease of 9%. The other parties in the race did not achieve results in Durrës, although part of their lists included uncontested names.

The "Initiative Albania Becomes" coalition received 2.43% of the votes, the "Opportunity" Party 2.62%, the "Together" Movement 1.2%, the Euro-Atlantic Coalition Party 0.9%, the Right Coalition for Development 0.7%, the Albanian National Alliance Party 0.2%, the Social Democratic Party 0.2%, the Homeland Movement 0.3%.

"I can say that this campaign was mainly dominated by the two major parties, and in the intervening of new parties/coalitions to find space for promotion and campaigning," Mirian Reçi, representative of the Civil Society Development Center (CSDC) in Durrës, told Faktoje. 

These elections also lacked debate between candidates. The candidates used their social networks extensively to promote their electoral meetings, and very few of them were seen in interviews in local media, but not in confrontations. 

The public forum "Confronting Political Offers for the 2025 Parliamentary Elections", organized by CSDC, was the only one held in the city, but was supported by only four candidates from new parties. Faktoje.al