Local Government
4
Large Cities
0
Capital Cities
0
Regional or State Governments
0
National Government
0
Other Institutions
0
Local Government
4
Large Cities
0
Capital Cities
0
Regional or State Governments
0
National Government
0
Other Institutions
0
Community
Capital
Chisinau
Population
2 657 640
Language
Romanian
Currency
Leu
Indexes
Democracy
83
Hybrid Regime
Democracy
Democracy
83
Hybrid Regime
Democracy
Corruption Perception
120/180
High
Corruption Perception
Corruption Perception
120/180
High
Corruption Perception
Human Development
107
High
Human Development
Human Development
107
High
Human Development
World Happiness
70/153
High
World Happiness
World Happiness
70/153
High
World Happiness
Global Peace
68
High
Global Peace
Global Peace
68
High
Global Peace
Global Terrorism
123
Very Low
Global Terrorism
Global Terrorism
123
Very Low
Global Terrorism
Legislação sobre Orçamentos Participativos
There is no law dedicated to Participatory Budgeting, but the general legal framework allows authorities to develop and implement them. However, the existence of legal provisions regarding Participatory Budgeting would facilitate the emergence of these initiatives in authorities and institutions. It is also worth mentioning that the Ministry of Finance generally supports the development of such practices, but at the moment it or other ministries, agencies at the central level have not developed any policies on Participatory Budgeting.
The main promoters of Participatory Budgeting in the Republic of Moldova are the Local Authorities, often supported by the non-governmental sector and/or by partners from abroad.
At the local level, the implementation of PB is based on the regulation dedicated to Participatory Budgeting approved by the local authority. The number of local public authorities in which a regulation for Participatory Budgeting has been approved is higher than the number of PBs. In 2019 some authorities stopped the Participatory Budgeting (for various reasons), and others, even if they are called similar to Participatory Budgeting, do not fully meet the conditions of the methodology to be qualified as such. In particular, this refers to a voting process, in which there is no direct voting process for citizens.
Outstanding Innovations
For the time being, it is difficult to talk about remarkable innovations. The general conditions in the Republic of Moldova, such as very poor public budgets, high levels of corruption, a massive migration of the population from the country, create specific difficulties in the development of PB. Thus, it is rather possible to talk about certain specific features that would help PB to make its way. These would include the requirement for contributions from citizens or contributions from other donors. Through this form, the deliberative authorities at the local level would be convinced more easily about the implementation of Participatory Budgeting.
INITIAL REFERENCE FOR THE ADOPTION OF PB IN THE COUNTRY
In most cases for local authorities, the Participatory Budgeting in the Republic of Moldova was inspired by the Polish practice. But the experience of Romania and the Czech Republic also have a strong influence.
SUBSEQUENT REFERENCE FOR PB DISSEMINATION
At the moment, there is no internal model in the Republic of Moldova that could be used as reference by other authorities.
Main Trends of PB in the Country During the Pandemic
Broadly speaking, it can be said that COVID-19 has negatively influenced the development of PB. In 2019 several Local Authorities initiated a PB (even if some do not meet all the conditions required by the methodology of this publication) by approving the Regulations, but some of them were not implemented due to financial difficulties or quarantine reasons. Thus, the number of PBs in 2020 will probably be higher than in 2019, but lower than it would have been in the absence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, another impact of COVID-19 is related to the difficulties concerning the voting of the projects, in some cases, this process is cancelled. This decision was made by the joint commissions between the representatives of the authority and the civil society.
Additional Information
Participatory Budgeting practices in Moldova in the vast majority of cases (there are exceptions) were or are developed with the methodological and/or financial support of projects funded by EU partners. In 2019 and 2020, several authorities initiated PB processes, some meeting all the criteria stipulated in the methodology of this publication, others not. However, there is clearly a growing interest among mayors in PB, especially after the 2019 local elections. At the same time, the size of the budget allocated by the authorities for PB is small, from a few hundred euros to tens of thousands of euros (except for the capital city). Also, if we consider other specific conditions of the Republic of Moldova, not all authorities that have implemented or implement the DB (PB?) can ensure a high level of participation in the budget process. Thus, despite the fact that in some authorities PB exists or has existed, they overall remain with a rather low level of participation in the budgetary process.
At the same time, the development of PB in schools is increasing. Although they do not fully meet the criteria mentioned in the methodology of this publication, these processes are gaining popularity among school administrations and students.
