Moldovan government proposes simplification of voluntary amalgamation procedure

The amalgamation procedure will become simpler and more flexible for mayoralties. The legislative amendments proposed by the government have been discussed at consultations with mayors and members of the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM).

Secretary General of the Government Alexei Buzu said that voluntary amalgamation was gaining momentum – currently there are 135 initiation decisions and over 350 communities that have started this process. At the same time, throughout the country, the necessary consultations continue for finalizing the concept of the local public administration reform.

“We have already been to 29 districts and have talked with about 3,700 local elected officials. These are useful discussions for building this reform together. We ask you to be our partners in this process. We all want this reform to make local public services better, more accessible and more transparent for citizens,” said the secretary general of the government.

The legislative amendments proposed to simplify voluntary amalgamation will reduce bureaucracy and provide more flexibility to local authorities in organizing this process. Thus, it is planned to remove the mandatory 25 km distance from the administrative center – mayoralties will be able to identify, at the local level, an appropriate formula for cooperation and reorganization, depending on the interests of the community.

At the same time, the process of consulting citizens will be simplified and the number of documents prepared by local public authorities will be reduced. Some documents will be prepared with the support of the State Chancellery.

Another important change is the removal of the obligation to organize early elections before the 2027 general local elections. This change will simplify the procedure and provide more clarity and predictability to communities which decide to initiate the process.

Following amalgamation, mayoralties will have access to greater resources for development, financial incentives provided by the government and citizens will benefit from better and more easily accessible public services. In each locality, unified centers for the provision of public services (CUPS) are to be developed, so that people can get the necessary documents and services in a single place.