Gagauzia administrative reform stalls amid legal and budget risks
Moldova's local government reform requires tailored legal mechanisms for the Gagauz Autonomous Region to respect its special constitutional status, according to legal expert Igor Ianac during an IPN press agency debate.
Ianac warned that forced municipal amalgamations risk altering the territorial integrity of the autonomous unit, potentially shifting local jurisdictions outside the region's legally defined boundaries.
Such shifts could destabilize Gagauzia's constitutional framework and public administration system, while threatening to marginalize smaller villages as administrative attention concentrates in regional hubs.
Fiscal guarantees demanded for rural communities
Comrat Mayor Serghei Anastasiov voiced support for administrative consolidation, but demanded strict statutory safeguards to prevent major municipalities from absorbing funds intended for smaller rural villages.
Anastasiov urged lawmakers to embed a rigid budget distribution formula into the reform legislation, ensuring funds remain tied proportionally to per-capita allocations across all localities.
He noted that regional authorities currently mismanage central budget allocations, spending significant resources on administrative upkeep rather than local development.
Out of €20.4 million (approx. 400 million MDL) in discretionary funds provided to the region, roughly €5.1 million to €7.65 million (approx. 100–150 million MDL) covers administrative apparatus costs.
Anastasiov argued that €10.2 million to €15.3 million (approx. 200–300 million MDL)—equivalent to roughly €714 (approx. 14,000 MDL) per capita—could have been distributed annually for infrastructure and development across rural settlements.
Political impasse paralyzes regional implementation
Government Secretary General Alexei Buzu confirmed that administrative consolidation in Gagauzia remains stalled compared to the rest of the country.
While local consolidation decisions across Moldova proceed directly to the central cabinet, Gagauzia's procedures require ratification by the regional legislature, the People's Assembly of Gagauzia.
Because the assembly's mandate has expired without a functional structure in place, formal approval processes for administrative amalgamation in the autonomous region remain legally blocked.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
