As many as 561 mayor's offices adopt final decisions on voluntary amalgamation; government's secretary-general says real stake of reform to provide citizens with decent living conditions

As many as 561 mayors’ offices of Moldova have adopted final decisions on voluntary amalgamation, accounting for 63 per cent of all mayors’ offices of the country. As many as 65.3 per cent of the mayors’ offices that adopted final decisions on voluntary amalgamation have fewer than 3,000 inhabitants. The results today were presented by Government Secretary-General Alexei Buzu.

“The fact that 63 per cent of mayors’ offices have completed this process clearly shows that voluntary amalgamation was and continues to be accepted by local elected officials. The real stake of this reform is to provide citizens with decent living conditions. Citizens expect simple things: running water from the tap, sanitation, passable roads and street lighting,” emphasized the head of the State Chancellery.

Support worth 4.5 billion lei has been allocated for the communities that opted for voluntary amalgamation. The largest incentives are earmarked for Ungheni – over 157.5 million lei for 10 administrative-territorial units, Calarasi – over 116.6 million lei for 14 administrative-territorial units, Rezina – over 85.3 million lei for 9 administrative-territorial units, and Rascani – over 72.6 million lei for 7 administrative-territorial units.

Amalgamation also contributes to the formation of larger communities. For example, the municipality of Ungheni will grow from 26,500 to more than 42,300 inhabitants, while the town of Calarasi will increase from 9,500 to 26,800 inhabitants.

The next stage will concern 254 mayors’ offices, which will move to statutory amalgamation. Mayors’ offices with a population of more than 3,000 inhabitants are not required to participate in the process; in their case, amalgamation is optional. As a result, by 2027, the number of mayors’ offices is expected to reach 292.

“The fact that hundreds of local elected officials held discussions and negotiations this year and took on this far-from-easy decision once again proves political maturity. In September, we will submit the legislative package related to statutory amalgamation for public consultation, after which it will be submitted to parliament for adoption in this autumn,” the Government Secretary-General noted.

 

The local public administration reform was launched by the Government at the beginning of 2026 and aims to strengthen the administrative capacity of mayors’ offices and improve public services.