Pre-Election “Reform”: How PAS Tightens Its Grip on Local Power

Sergiu CEBAN

Through reforms in local self-government, the authorities are seeking to build a system of manual control over the country and secure favorable conditions for the next local elections

Last week, PAS announced its intention to grant parliament the authority to suspend the activities of local administrations. This triggered a wave of criticism from the opposition and independent experts, and there are indeed more than enough grounds for concern. For example, the adoption of such a law coincides with a major administrative-territorial reform that the authorities aim to complete before the 2027 local elections. Taken together, these plans suggest that the goal is not to improve the efficiency of public administration, but rather to prepare for another three-year electoral cycle and to secure the political survival of the ruling regime. Thus, within the framework of the draft Code on the organization and functioning of parliament, PAS proposes to include a separate chapter on its relations with local self-government bodies, including mayoralties, district councils, and local councils. The key point is that parliament would be granted the authority to suspend the activities of local public administrations in cases of violations of the Constitution and legislation. Presenting the draft law at public consultations, ruling party MP Vasile Gradinaru assured that this is a “serious” measure but would be applied “extremely rarely”. As a hypothetical example, he cited a situation in which a local government official transfers information about the country’s defense system to a military adviser of a foreign state. Such statements reveal the extent of imagination among PAS officials when it comes to concealing the real motives behind their legislative initiatives. It is therefore reasonable to ask who exactly will determine whether a mayoralty has violated the law. The answer is obvious: the parliamentary majority, that is, PAS itself. At the same time, according to available information, the draft law does not imply an independent judicial review prior to such a decision. Consequently, what appears at first glance to be a mechanism of legal oversight is, in reality, nothing more than an instrument for political purges. To understand the logic of the current authorities, one must go back to November 2023, when the local elections became a real test and the first warning signal for them. Maia Sandu’s political force failed to secure a majority in any district council across the country, and its candidates won in only 6 out of 36 cities. The capital remained under the control of Ion Ceban from the opposition National Alternative Movement. In addition, the opposition retained control over Balti, the country’s second-largest city. The Party of Socialists won in six cities, while several others went to independents and smaller parties. In essence, the ruling party maintained its position only thanks to the diaspora and central regions, while the north and south of the country, including Gagauzia, voted against it in a consolidated manner. At the time, experts unanimously interpreted these results as a sign of declining public trust in the political regime. Even analysts loyal to the authorities acknowledged that the local elections indicated a dramatic drop in PAS’ popularity over two years in power. Nevertheless, by deploying a broad set of “safeguard” and repressive measures, the party ultimately managed to pull through both the 2024 presidential campaign and the 2025 parliamentary elections. Now, as we can see, a large-scale administrative-territorial reform is unfolding. In January of this year, PAS deputies explicitly set the timeline, demanding that the government present a reform plan by the end of winter, complete public consultations by summer, and adopt the legislative package in time for the 2027 local elections to be held within a new administrative-territorial framework. An important detail is that the reform project envisages the abolition of mandatory early elections following local consolidations, with all re-elections postponed to the general local elections of 2027. In other words, when mayoralties are merged, current leaders, often from the opposition, will retain their powers until PAS chooses to go to elections within the new administrative boundaries. New districts, new electoral lists, and new rules together create a situation in which the ruling regime gains the ability to secure all the necessary conditions to avoid a repeat of the 2023 scenario. Returning to the draft law on dissolving mayoralties, it should be noted that its authors appeal to the Constitution, specifically Article 66. It indeed provides that parliament may suspend the activities of local self-government bodies in cases provided by law. Current legislation allows for the dissolution of a district council, but only on the basis of a reasoned proposal from the district head or the government, grounded in a court decision that has entered into force. The new Code, however, appears intended to remove this key requirement of a judicial ruling, which would allow parliament to act independently, without appeals and without delay. One cannot ignore the broader context of the country’s move toward European Union membership and Brussels’ requirements for decentralization and the strengthening of local self-government. However, these requirements are set in a very specific direction – greater autonomy and stronger financial capacity for local communities, not increased political control over them by the central authorities. Moreover, the European Charter of Local Self-Government, signed by Moldova among others, explicitly guarantees local bodies the right to judicial protection. Yet international conventions have done little to restrain PAS in its unbridled drive to secure a monopoly on power. However, the electoral calculations of the party strategists are likely linked not only to domestic political goals. By 2027, when the local election campaign is set to begin, PAS anticipates that negotiations on EU accession will enter their most intensive phase. The opening and closing of key chapters will unfold against the backdrop of how our electorate votes locally, and Brussels will be watching this very closely. If the next local elections turn out to be another defeat for PAS, this time it will no longer serve as a signal for internal party mobilization, but rather as a real indicator of socio-political fatigue with the ruling party and its overall political course. As a result, an electoral failure in the midst of integration talks would create an awkward collision, with the European Union negotiating with a government that its own citizens have expressed a vote of no confidence in at the local level. Precedents in other candidate countries show that such situations do not go unnoticed in Brussels and inevitably affect the pace of further negotiations. In the event of a defeat in the local elections, the electoral outlook for PAS becomes even more challenging. The 2028 presidential elections will take place without Maia Sandu, who for a long time was the party’s key pre-election asset. Meanwhile, the outcome of the 2029 parliamentary elections will largely depend on whether PAS manages to maintain control following the results of the two preceding votes. It appears that deep doubts about this drive the current haste of the authorities with the territorial reform and the bill on the dissolution of local administrations, in an attempt to reshape the rules of the game before the process goes off-script. This paints a rather discouraging picture. It turns out that the authorities are not seeking to improve the structure of government, but to build a system of “manual command” over the country – from the presidency down to a village mayor. Essentially, we are witnessing PAS’ undisguised attempt to extrapolate the long-standing practice of managing the country under emergency conditions. However, while society may tolerate restrictions on democratic procedures in times of crisis for the sake of national survival, in the context of normal everyday political life such measures should be understood unequivocally as an attempt to usurp power.