Government approves equal status with Chisinau for Balti

The Moldovan Government approved a draft law that would raise the Balti Municipality to a second level territorial-administrative unit. The proposal was presented on July 27 by a group of Liberal-Democrat MPs, in response to the Balti Communist councilors' decision to hold a local referendum to enlarge the city's autonomy, Info-Prim Neo reports. The status of Balti Municipality could be equal to that of Chisinau Municipality if Parliament adopts the law. The authors of the initiative are Tudor Deliu, Anghel Agachi and Anatolie Dumitru. They argue that the Communist government made a mistake not to give Balti this rightful status. On July 26, the Communist councilors in Balti adopted the decision to organize a local referendum. They said they wanted more financial autonomy and the power to appoint heads of institutions in Balti.