Moldova to Have Fewer Than Ten Districts After Administrative Reform

Around 70% of Moldova’s municipalities are expected to voluntarily merge, while the current 33 districts will be replaced by fewer than ten larger administrative units. The authorities plan to present a new administrative-territorial map of the country this autumn. Government Secretary-General Alexei Buzu, who oversees the local public administration reform, said this in an interview with Europa Liberă, tvrmoldova.md reports. According to Buzu, the voluntary stage of the territorial amalgamation process will end on July 31. After that, the mandatory stage of the reform will begin and is expected to be completed in the autumn. At that point, the government will submit the new administrative-territorial map of the Republic of Moldova to Parliament. The exact number of districts that will remain after the reform has not yet been determined, but Buzu said that “there will definitely be fewer than ten”. The government’s secretary-general explained that July 31 is not the final deadline for completing the mergers but rather the date by which local authorities must initiate the necessary procedures to be included in the new administrative structure. According to him, the merger process involves public consultations, negotiations between local councils, and the adoption of a series of administrative decisions, while little time remains before the next general local elections scheduled for 2027. The government emphasized that settlements that do not launch the merger process by July 31 will not be automatically punished and will not be forced to merge against their will, as the reform is presented as voluntary. At the same time, such settlements may lose the opportunity to benefit from the current reform timeline and will have less time to participate in the reorganization process before the new administrative structure is approved. Buzu said the reform has already entered an advanced stage. According to data presented in Parliament, more than 1,000 merger-related decisions have already been adopted, and around 70% of Moldova’s municipalities are currently involved in the process. Moldova currently has 892 municipalities, with around 87% of them serving fewer than 3,000 residents. According to the authorities, small local administrations face difficulties in attracting specialists and implementing investment projects due to limited financial and administrative resources. Voluntary amalgamation involves several settlements pooling their resources to create stronger and more efficient local government bodies. The authorities argue that the reform will modernize the local administration system and improve the quality of public services provided to citizens.