The head of the Parliament’s commission on public administration said the local general elections of 2023 will take place based on the current territorial-administrative reform, which is in the formula of 32 existing districts. Larisa Voloh, MP of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity, noted the territorial-administrative reform generates a lot of skepticism among the local public authorities and the government therefore suggested applying voluntary amalgamation, IPN reports.
The MP said voluntary amalgamation is a compromise solution and the first stage of the territorial-administrative reform. This way, the local public authorities of the first and second levels can decide to unite out of their own free will.
“The most painful stage of the reform is the territorial-administrative reform. When we speak about amalgamation, either voluntary or reorganization at the first level or the second level, the issue is treated skeptically, not always in a welcoming way, as the benefits for the local public authorities and for the citizens are not known. At the moment, it’s clear that in the next elections we will use the current formula of 32 districts, if they do not want to go through the process of amalgamation as this covers not only the entities of the first level, but also those of the second level,” PAS MP Larisa Voloh stated in the talk show “Reflection Points” on Vocea Basarabiei station.
Under the draft state budget for 2023 that was approved by the Government on December 7, 250 million lei will be allocated for the Voluntary Amalgamation of Local Governments Fund.
“Currently, we have seven districts with seven localities, like Basarabeasca. Or, the districts of Șoldănești and Dubăsari have a low number of local public authorities. But the amalgamation decision will be taken voluntarily. This reform implies not only savings, but also the improvement of quality and of the use of public funds. At the local level, it is considered that the second level is inefficient,” said the MP.
According to representatives of the government, the public authorities that decide in favor of voluntary amalgamation will benefit from a series of stimuli, such as bonus pays, special general purpose transfers for the amalgamated local governments, grants for developing infrastructure for a period of at least four years, priority in receiving funds from foreign assistance programs.
The next local elections in Moldova are to take place in 2023 given that the last local elections were held in October-November 2019 and the local elected officials hold office for a four –year term.
