At its first meeting in its new composition on July 22, the government led by Vasile Tofan approved a draft of the new Law on Public Participation in the Decision-Making Process. The bill extends the timeframes for public consultations, introduces a citizens’ initiative mechanism, and makes it mandatory to conduct consultations through a unified digital platform.
This is one of the first legislative initiatives of the new government, formed following the appointment of Vasile Tofan as prime minister.
Consultations Will Become Mandatory
According to the draft law, citizen participation will be ensured at all stages of the preparation, adoption, and amendment of regulatory acts and public policy documents.
One of the key innovations will be the mandatory publication of all public consultations on the particip.gov.md platform, where users will be able to track the entire process of reviewing proposals.
The e-Democrație platform will also be used to promote civic initiatives and direct citizen participation in the discussion of government decisions.
The draft law provides for an extension of the public comment periods for documents. At the initiation stage, the minimum consultation period will be 10 business days for regulatory acts and 15 business days for public policy documents.
After the drafts are prepared, public consultations will continue for at least 15 and 20 business days, respectively.
A citizens’ initiative mechanism will be introduced
The bill also introduces a citizens’ initiative mechanism, which will allow residents to propose solutions to issues of public interest within the framework of a procedure established by law.
As noted by Government Secretary-General Alexei Buz, the new law provides a mechanism for addressing violations of transparency procedures in decision-making.
“With this law, we are introducing a mechanism to correct violations. Failure to comply with transparency procedures in decision-making can be rectified and challenged by citizens and interested parties. The State Chancellery will work with all government bodies to ensure the full implementation of the law,” stated Alexei Buzu.
The law will apply to all central and local public authorities, including parliament, the presidential administration, the government, autonomous public bodies, and the authorities of administrative-territorial units with special status.
It is expected that the main provisions of the law will take effect on January 1, 2027, and the citizens’ initiative mechanism will begin to be applied on January 1, 2028.
