“Representative local institutions must be complemented by modern forms of participatory democracy, public dialogue and increased participation of young people, women and vulnerable groups.” stressed Congress President Marc Cools on 16 February at a roundtable entitled “Local Voices, Shared Goals: Advancing local democracy” in Sireţi, Republic of Moldova, on Monday 16 February 2026.
Organised on the margin of the meeting of the Congress Bureau under the aegis of the Republic of Moldova’s Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, the roundtable brought together high-ranking representatives of the government and Parliament, mayors and civil society, as well as the members of the Bureau of the Congress to discuss participatory initiatives in the country. The event was held in contribution towards the New Democratic Pact for Europe.
“Strengthening local democracy means ensuring not only free and fair elections, but also effective mechanisms for consultation, dialogue, and citizen involvement in decision-making’, stated Alexandru Iacub, Deputy Secretary General of the Government of the Republic of Moldova He also highlighted that civic participation is a key component of the country’s public administration reform.
The Mayors of Sireţi, Zubreşti and Leova highlighted their efforts to boost civil participation, human rights measures and open government initiatives in collaboration with the Congress. In their contributions, they stressed the value of co-creation to develop, together with communities, plans to improve local infrastructure, services and governance reforms such as voluntary amalgamation. The integration of human rights principles and standards into all local development plans and strategies was highlighted In addition, participants underlined that building civic trust and engagement are essential to countering disinformation and polarisation, and stressed the importance of inclusive participation processes.
In closing, Congress Vice-President Gunn Marit Helgesen remarked that “Learning from each other and identifying innovative ways to expand informed participation protects local democracy and helps build democratic security from the ground up.”
The event was organised by the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress as part of the projects ‘Promoting Civil Participation in Political Decision-Making in the Republic of Moldova’ (2024-26) and ‘Promoting multilevel dialogue, open government and human rights at local level in the Republic of Moldova’ (2025-2028). These projects as implemented under the 2025-2028 Council of Europe Action Plan for Moldova.