Moldova to replace 32 Soviet-era districts with three regions and consolidate town halls

Replacing Soviet-era districts

The government of Moldova announced a territorial reorganization on 1 October 2026 that will replace the country's 32 Soviet-era districts with three administrative regions. Prime Minister Vasile Tofan presented the plan, which establishes the North, Center, and South regions to manage strategic development and regional coordination. The North region will unite 11 former districts with its administrative seat in Bălți, the Center region will merge 13 districts with headquarters in Chișinău, and the South region will combine 7 districts based in Cahul. The municipalities of Chișinău and Bălți will maintain their autonomous status outside the regional administrations, while Gagauzia will preserve its special autonomous status. In addition, the southern district of Taraclia, which has an ethnic Bulgarian minority, will become a standalone level-two municipality.

Consolidation of municipal town halls

Under the proposed framework, the total number of local town halls across Moldova will fall from 898 to approximately 292. The plan institutes a minimum population threshold of 3,000 residents for any single town hall. The North region, which has 514,000 residents, will reduce its local town halls from 306 to 81. The Center region, home to 670,000 citizens, will see its 349 town halls consolidated into 96. The South region, with a population of 280,000, will decrease its local administrations from 165 to 48. Tofan framed the municipal consolidation around empowering local leadership.

If I were to reduce the essence of the reform to a single sentence, it is above all about building stronger town halls.

Redefining regional roles and public services

The three new regional administrations will not deliver direct public services or manage town halls. Instead, regional staff will help groups of localities design multi-district infrastructure initiatives and secure funding. Tofan cited project collaboration among northern towns such as Soroca, Edineț, and Drochia, central towns including Ungheni, Orhei, Strășeni, Călărași, and Hâncești, and southern towns such as Cahul, Căușeni, Leova, Cimișlia, and Ștefan-Vodă for water, road, and waste management systems. Public counters, civil documentation, social assistance, and education management will transfer either to local town halls or to territorial offices of the central government. Local cultural houses, museums, libraries, art schools, sports schools, and youth centers will remain in their host communities under municipal administration.

Bureaucracy reduction and legislative timeline

The reform targets administrative overhead inherited from the Soviet district structure, which previously maintained council administrations across 32 jurisdictions. Tofan, who advocated for a smaller state apparatus and institutional mergers upon taking office, stated that funds previously allocated to district administrations will be redirected to community needs. Government Secretary General Alexei Buzu explained that regional teams will be substantially smaller than old district council staffs, while town halls will recruit specialists in public procurement and planning. Buzu noted that local administration currently employs 25% of Moldova's civil servants, with 50% having exceeded retirement age.

We want to have professionals there, not a layer of intermediation between the town hall, the district, and the government.

The Moldovan government plans to submit the legislative package to Parliament in autumn 2026. The transition to the three-region system is scheduled to take effect in 2027 following the next local elections.