The new Legislature passed the new Local Government Code, bringing a unified framework, electronic voting and the abolition of the second round.
The new Local Government Code has been tabled in Parliament, which is expected to be debated next week in the relevant parliamentary committee and introduced for a vote in the Plenary in June. According to the Interior Ministry, the new code brings together and modernizes nearly 2,000 scattered provisions concerning the functioning of municipalities and regions and the conduct of municipal elections.
Local Government Code: A single framework and clear responsibilities
One of the most important reforms concerns the creation of a single institutional framework for regions, which until now have operated under different and often overlapping legal provisions. The new Code seeks to clarify the responsibilities between the levels of administration in order to reduce overlaps, delays and administrative confusion.
At the same time, the intergovernmental system in municipalities and regions is being reorganised, with clearer rules of operation for municipal and regional councils, committees and advisory bodies. The aim is to make decision-making more effective and avoid conflicts of competence.
Referenda, transparency and control
The new Code provides for enhanced citizen participation through the establishment of consultative municipal plebiscites with electronic voting and specific institutional guarantees. At the same time, the youth councils are upgraded, with clear election procedures and the use of digital tools.
Special emphasis is also placed on transparency and accountability, with mandatory public disclosure of decisions, use of digital tools and strengthening of control mechanisms. In the same framework, a new system of legality control of local government acts is envisaged through an integrated information system and the Independent Service for Legality Control of Local Authorities.
The Code also clearly regulates the statutory status of elected officials, defining issues such as remuneration, expenses for attendance and the conditions for suspension of professional activity or granting of special licences.
Electronic voting and single-round elections
Most significant changes include reform of the local government election system, with the abolition of the second round in municipal and regional elections. At the same time, the possibility of electronic voting in special polling stations, in the presence of a judicial representative, is introduced, with the aim of enhancing citizen participation and the legitimacy of elected authorities.
Finally, the new Code gives special attention to digital transformation of local government, through the development of electronic applications that will facilitate both the participation of citizens in decision-making processes and their daily service by municipalities and regions.
