Bălți municipal administration and financial oversight

Bălți City Hall in Moldova has faced a period of administrative scrutiny and legislative maneuvering. While an evaluation by IDIS ‘Viitorul’ ranked the municipality first in transparency with a 91% score, a recent audit by the Court of Accounts issued an adverse opinion regarding the 2025 financial statements. The audit cited discrepancies in asset reporting, specifically noting that property rights were only registered for approximately 860 hectares of land despite accounting records listing over 1,400 hectares valued at more than three billion lei.

Following these financial concerns, the Bălți Municipal Council convened an extraordinary meeting to address the 2026 municipal budget and leadership changes. The agenda included the proposed termination of Vice Mayor Vitalie Balan’s mandate and the appointment of Eduard Pleșca. Additionally, the council considered a proposal for free municipal public transport on Wednesdays for the remainder of 2026. Mayor Alexandr Petkov noted that previous attempts to launch a ‘Green Wednesday’ free transport program were blocked by councilors from the Socialist, Communist, and Action and Solidarity parties.