Moldovan parliament speaker provides details on administrative and territorial reform

Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu today provided details on the administrative and territorial reform, noting that the current districts would not be part of the new structure and that there would be fewer second-level administrative and territorial units. The speaker made statements to this effect before the parliament’s plenary meeting.

According to Igor Grosu, Chisinau, Balti municipality, the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia and the Taraclia administrative-territorial unit will have a distinct status.

“In general, we will not have districts; we will have another form of territorial and administrative unit, but there will be fewer of them, that is certain. In addition to the larger ones that will be created, Chisinau has a special status, Balti has a special status, the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia and the Bulgarian cultural unit of Taraclia—I have listed four that will remain, as well as the others that will be proposed for consideration,” Igor Grosu said.

The parliament speaker suggested that one of the options for naming the new units could be “counties.”

“County sounds nicer than district, if you ask me, but it is a matter of taste,” Grosu said.

He also said that the reform would target both the second level of local public administration and the level of mayors’ offices, which will be reorganized based on territory, size and competencies.

“The second level will remain; the level of mayors’ offices will be reset in terms of territories, the size of the territory and competencies, as well as the central level,” Igor Grosu explained.

The local public administration reform has reached the stage of mandatory amalgamation following the completion of the voluntary amalgamation process. By August 31, 561 mayors’ offices, representing 63 per cent of all mayors’ offices of Moldova, had adopted final decisions on voluntary amalgamation.

The authorities are now preparing the framework for mandatory amalgamation, which will target 254 mayors’ offices that failed to reach a consensus on voluntary unification. Public consultations on the related legislative package are being held in September, and the package is expected to be submitted to parliament in this autumn. Following the reform, the number of mayors’ offices is estimated to reach 292 in 2027.