CALM Demands Halt to Forced Locality Amalgamation

The Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM) is calling for a halt to the government's normative amalgamation program of localities until a legal framework regulating the procedure is adopted. CALM argues that several public local authorities have received notifications regarding their inclusion in clusters and the establishment of administrative centers without sufficient consultation and necessary resources. Some mayors complain about forced merging of localities, while the government denies these allegations and states that the process is transparent. CALM also accuses the government of putting pressure on mayors during the administrative-territorial reform.