Moldova Preparing Administrative Reform: Reduction of Municipalities and New Districts

Chisinau is going to present a concept for administrative-territorial reform in March. In the autumn, Parliament is expected to consider a corresponding draft law, which is currently in preparation.

The impetus for the reform was the excessive fragmentation of the current system, as stated by the Moldovan analytical company iData. Of the 898 municipalities, more than 60 serve communities with fewer than 1,500 people. According to analysts, this model complicates the formation of a professional workforce, limits the budgetary capacity of communities, and reduces the effectiveness of public procurement, spatial planning, and the attraction of European investment.

The concept envisages reducing the number of municipalities from 898 to about 300, creating seven districts – Bălți, Cahul, Bender, Orhei, Soroca, Tiraspol, Ungheni – and one municipality –Chișinău – based on the Romanian model. It is proposed that district councils be transformed into professional administrative structures focused on public procurement, spatial planning, and the preparation of infrastructure projects.

A separate element of the reform is the integration of territories with special status: the Gagauz Yeri ATU (Autonomous Territorial Union – Transl.) is proposed to be included in the Cahul district, and Transnistrian region – in the Tiraspol district.

In the russian information space, the reform is already being presented as “preparation for the liquidation of Moldova’s statehood and absorption by Romania”. Pro-kremlin media are promoting narratives about “redrawing Moldova according to Romanian patterns” and forming an administrative basis for a potential union, emphasizing the risk of “eliminating the autonomy of Gagauzia” and “the center’s pressure on the regions”. The kremlin is expected to oppose the adoption of the draft law through information campaigns, incitement of protests, and the use of pro-russian political forces in the Moldovan Parliament.