Local Public Administration Reform // Moldovan government prepares normative amalgamation phase for 254 mayoralties

The government is preparing the normative amalgamation phase, which will target 254 mayoralties that have not completed the voluntary amalgamation process. The legislative package is to be drafted and consulted on in September, while the country’s new administrative and territorial structure is expected to enter into force after the 2027 general local elections.

Government Secretary General Alexei Buzu, at a today’s during a press conference, said that the authorities had already started working with some of the 254 mayoralties that are to undergo normative amalgamation.

“There are 254 mayoralties that will go through this process. We have already started working and interacting with a large part of them, since August,” Buzu said.

According to the official, discussions and consultations with local elected officials and citizens have already been held in more communities, and they will continue throughout September. The authorities aim to finalize the legislative package on administrative and territorial reorganization in the coming weeks.

“We will make it public, debate it and consult on it,” Alexei Buzu stated.

The legislative package will establish the powers of municipalities, the powers of second-level public administration, as well as the new administrative and territorial map and the list of localities that will belong to each administrative unit.

Alexei Buzu gave the example of the future Calarasi municipality, emphasizing that the localities included in the new structure would not lose their identity.

“There will be the Calarasi municipality, but within the municipality we will have, including in the law, the name of every locality, which will be preserved,” the official explained.

Thus, localities such as Micleușeni, Nișcani, Păulești, Peticeni, Țibirica, Hirova, Unișcani, Căbăiești, Cojușnița, Răciula, Sadova, Tuzara and Frumușica will retain their names and identities, which will be provided for in the legislative act.

After the consultations are completed, the package will be approved by the government and submitted to parliament. According to Buzu, the draft will be reviewed and consulted on through the parliamentary platform and approved this autumn.

Subsequently, the authorities will have approximately one year to prepare the transition to the new administrative structure.

“The country’s new administrative structure will enter into force together with next year’s general local elections,” Buzu said, referring to the 2027 local elections.

During this period, the government intends to work together with local elected officials and public servants, in order to establish development priorities, set up efficient administrative teams and accelerate the digitalization of public services at the local level.

As a result of the reform, Moldova is estimated to have approximately 292 municipalities, compared with 890 at present. Buzu noted, however, that this figure was preliminary and may change before the process is completed.

“Fewer mayoralties, but stronger, more capable and more determined to accelerate the development process,” the Government Secretary General said.

According to Buzu, strengthening local administration should enable the new municipalities to access pre-accession funds more easily and implement large-scale infrastructure projects.

“Ultimately, to provide our citizens with the simple things they have been waiting for years: running water from the tap, sanitation, passable roads and street lighting,” the official said.

Alexei Buzu urged citizens to obtain information from reliable sources and get involved in the reform process, asking for explanations from both the government and the State Chancellery, as well as from local elected officials.

“This is a complicated effort, but it is absolutely necessary. We want to unite, we want to consolidate,” Buzu emphasized.

The official insisted that citizens’ voices must be heard throughout the reform: “It is very important that citizens’ voices be heard. It must be a priority in everything we do within this reform.”