Voluntary amalgamation in central district of Moldova: 32 mayoralties join forces for better standard of living

In Ungheni, 32 mayoralties have chosen to join their efforts to form more stronger and more efficient municipalities. On May 11, a meeting of the Joint Working Group for voluntary amalgamation took place in Ungheni, followed by a discussion with Secretary General of Government Alexei Buzu. The event was held under the motto: “It won’t be easy, but we will succeed.”

The Ungheni city hall, together with seven other mayoralties of the area — Zagarancea, Manoilesti, Valea Mare, Floritoaia Veche, Cetireni, Untesti, and Morenii Noi — decided to form a single administrative entity in order to act in a coordinated manner to improve the standard of living of local residents.

“We are certainly building a city hall that will have strong administrative capacity and financial capacity, thus becoming a strong administrative-territorial unit (UAT), which will be able to further consolidate public services, so that we can provide them to all citizens within the UAT,” said the mayor of Ungheni municipality, Vitalie Vrabie.

Vrabie underlined that the decision had been taken voluntarily.

“No one was forced to make such a decision and, together, by listening to people and discussing with them, we will decide on the next steps and on how to solve the most pressing problems,” added Vitalie Vrabie.

Secretary General of the Government Alexei Buzu welcomed the initiative of the eight town halls, noting that they represent an example of assuming responsibility and administrative courage. Buzu assured that the central authorities would support the process of forming the new administrative and territorial unit. He stressed that the voluntary amalgamation process among the eight Ungheni mayoralties must be successfully completed for the benefit of over 38,000 citizens from the 19 localities involved.

“We are in Ungheni, where 32 mayoralties are merging into several more consolidated, stronger town halls, better able to attract projects, development, and better services for people. The greater the effort to unite and consolidate is, the more we will accelerate and increase our chances of development. Great things are done together: my village, our town hall,” Buzu said.

The voluntary amalgamation process is part of a broader nationwide reform. According to the data presented, there are 435 decisions initiating amalgamation processes that concern approximately 550 mayoralties.

Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu said that this process must be finalized by next September, one year before the local elections, and that the final decision is to be taken no later than October 2026.

“We must close this chapter and make the final decision by October 2026,” Grosu said on Radio Moldova today evening.

The official encouraged local authorities to take advantage of this opportunity, noting that there are also incentives for mayoralties. He cited the localities of Ungheni, Calarasi, Rezina and Soldanesti as examples.

At the same time, Igor Grosu emphasized that the reform would be followed by normative amalgamation, noting that “in a mayoralty with 400 or 500 residents, you cannot provide quality public services.”

Members of the working group have recently paid a study visit to Leova, and in the near future a meeting is planned with a mayor from the Netherlands, who will share the Dutch experience in administrative reorganization.