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Efficient functioning of the local government depends on its territorial organization, which must correspond to the objective needs of building public power structures, capable of responding, in line with European standards, to the new political, social, economic and cultural realities in which located Republic of Moldova.
To investigate the phenomenon and identify efficient solutions was proposed to change the paradigm of investigation the phenomenon. It affirms the necessity to abandon the paradigm of an administrative-territorial organization and adopt a paradigm for the territorial organization of public power. In this sense, a theoretical-conceptual and methodological basis was elaborated in the domain of the territorial organization of the public power, in general, and in the local one in particular.

The sovereignty of the people in democratic states is implemented through the system of public power at every level of existence of territorial collectivities. That is why studying and improving the mechanisms of realization of public power must not be made in isolation, but holistically.
In order to define public power, it is necessary to address it not only from the constitutional law perspective, but also as a socio-political concept. The definition of the notion of public authority begins with the assumption that it is a socio-political category, and the study of it must consider its essence, its forms and levels of its realization. Only the theoretical clarification of these essential concepts could permit the "decoding" of the legalities of public governance and identification of the most efficient mechanisms applicable to contemporary society that would promote the efficient involvement of the people in the realization of public power.

The review in 2003 of the territorial-administrative structure for the purpose of replacing the 10 districts with 32 districts, and the creation of 252 new administrative-territorial units of the first level was, to a certain extent, a return to the old administrative organization of the Soviet period.
Democratization of the society needs to change the focus towards local initiative and the strengthening of regional centers. The improvement of the administrative-territorial structure is an effective lever to encourage local initiative and to successfully implement the functioning of the public administration.
The logical organization of a State's territory contributes to the judicious ordering of state power and administration. It meets the general interest and fully meets the local needs and requirements contained in the administrative-territorial units.
The administrative organization of the territory must meet the judicious division of the territorial limits taking into account the traditions, mentalities and the needs for good governance and democratic criteria.
The option for a particular model of administrative-territorial organization must be the result of deep scientific investigation.
The territorial-administrative reform requires a thorough preparation. It is necessary to provide substantiation of political, economic, social and financial standing of such actions. The problem of financial resources, which primarily refers to training local taxation, is a vital issue. This is because it involves financial autonomy, a central component of local autonomy, without which the decentralization can not work. Insufficient training can lead to some unexpected consequences or compromising actions.
In organization and demarcation of territorial administrative units (by number, structure, size, etc.) the social, material, financial costs and all the activities related to them can not be neglected for a short, medium or long term.

From August 2009 and till present, the Republic of Modova is governed by the "pro-European" coalitions. This period has been marked by instability and, the governments have succeeded very often. The purpose of the study is to investigate the content of government programmes regarding the territorial organization of the local government. There were analyzed the actions that are tangent/relevant to the territorial organization of the public power. Also, the election programs of the electoral contestants, that in the 2014 parliamentary elections have passed the electoral threshold, have been examined.

Local power is carried out within the territorial boundaries of local municipalities that are delimited by each other through clearly defined borders and their degree of autonomy and vitality and depends, to a large extent, on the principles underlying the territorial organization of this public power.
The author considers that the territorial organization of the public power in the Republic of Moldova must be carried out on the basis of the following principles: a) respect for human rights, b) respect for historical, national and local traditions, c) economic and financial sufficiency, d) ensuring the participation of the population in the management of local public affairs, e) maximum proximity of the local public authorities to the inhabitants, f) population consultation on issues related to the territorial organization of the public power, g) legality, h) respect of the scientific achievements.
It was concluded that there is no strict dependence on the process of the territorial organization of public power to the objective criteria for creating territorial systems for the exercise of public power. Unlike other systems, the system of territorial organization of public power is much more static. This is a necessary condition for the proper functioning of the public authorities, which must have a permanent and clearly defined territorial area of activity.
The territorial organization of power in the Republic of Moldova was influenced by the factors of social, economic, organizational, national, historical, political nature. Each of the listed factors can determine the most important aspects of the territorial structure at certain stages of state development.

Until 2019 the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova were based on a proportional system on party lists, at the parliamentary elections of February 24, 2019 it was applied the mixed voting system, an uninspired mix between the proportional and the majority system.
There were created 51 uninominal constituencies for the parliamentary elections of February 24, 2019, of which 3 over the borders of the republic, 46 on the territory of the Republic of Moldova controlled by the constitutional authorities and 2 in the Transnistrian region.
There are examined the particularities of conducting the parliamentary elections in the uninominal constituency no. 43, Cahul municipality: the profiles of the candidates, their electoral actions and the results obtained in this electoral constituency.
It was found that a common tendency for candidates was, in many cases, the reorientation of the electoral discourse from the issues of "national interest" to those of "local interest", even if their solution is not within the competence of a deputy.

The European Charter of Local Self-Government is, so far, the first and most important international political tool which guarantees the development of decentralization of public power and local autonomy. It represents the commitment of the Council of Europe's member country to promote in the internal organization of their states, a new distribution of functions and powers in order to support the development of subnational levels.
In carrying out the delimitation process of responsibilities between levels of public power's achievement we should start from the provisions of The European Charter of Local Self-Government which is based on institutional practices and structures, tested for decades in dozen of European countries. That means rationing, giving up improper structures, which would result the removing of the vertical power and as consequence the demolition of foundations on which inefficiency and corruption are based on. The necessity of transferring the resources and powers to the local level is dictated by a vital imperative – the strengthening of local public authorities' capacities and potential in order to locally provide a maximum volume of qualitative public services. This requires creating a clear and simple demarcation algorithm of responsibilities between the levels of exercise of public power.

Throughout the year the controversial legislative elections dominated the political landscape. Huge anti-government demonstrations that called in vain for political alternance. The legislative elections of 20 December 2018, boycotted by the major opposition parties, resulted in an easy victory of the ruling party, however without the expected constitutional amendment majority. Therefore, the prime minister and his cabinet were replaced. The local elections, crucial for democratization at the grass-roots, but postponed time and again since 1987, were again postponed in December 2018 sine die. Economic growth remained stable at about 5% per annum. Public investment in infrastructure (e. g. roads, harbour) and increases in agricultural productivity, notably of export crops, had been the key drivers of economic growth. Moreover, money-laundering, illegal money transfers and trafficking grew alarmingly. Unemployment and lacking political change caused increasing migration.

"Cruelty is a specific kind of human behaviour and has a clearly cultural dimension. It is often the result of passions and drives, accompanied by the breaking of taboos and a crossing of boundaries that cultures have raised to prevent the moral regression of mankind. Cruelty is also a "rational" way to acquire and stabilize political power. Both the atrocities themselves and the accusations of cruelty are instruments of power. The political efficiency of cruelty depends on the fear and awe, which it produces. Seneca regarded cruelty as the main attribute of tyranny. Through its imagery (like the bull of Phalaris) it breaks possible resistance and establishes despotism permanently. In the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times cruelty was considered a necessary evil in order to realize superior positive goals. So did the inquisitors, and so did Machiavelli who regarded cruelty not only as a means to the acquisition and preservation of power. The prince should also use cruelty to unify Italy and to build a stable and peaceful political order. Later, the understanding that cruelties are necessary to achieve good ends did not fall into oblivion, in spite of all criticism of Machiavelli's thought. In totalitarianism the aim of cruelty was not primarily the infliction of pain, but the abolition of individualism and the enforcement of the belief in a general law, which rules mankind. This could be either the law of history like during the French Revolution and in socialist states, or the 'natural law' of social Darwinism in the National Socialist and Fascist regimes. After the breakdown of totalitarianism and the triumph of liberal democracy the question arises, if cruelties are necessary components of all politics. Although we can still find cruel policies in liberal democracies (see Guantanamo Bay), at the same time the struggle against cruelty is vital in these systems and explains the dominance of the discourse on human rights." (author's abstract)

During the three decades of independence, in the Republic of Moldova has been undertaken
several actions regarding the territorial reorganization of the local power and administrative
mechanisms at subnational level. But these were insufficient, and in some
cases badly achieved, being ostentatiously rejected by the political actors and officials
from the state and local public authorities. In general, the reforms and restructuring of
the public administration at the local level and, implicitly, of the territorial organization
of the local public power, have been achieved according to the political tactics and
changes, but not on the basis of coherent strategies and with clearly defined goals.
Chronologically, the process of reforming the territorial organization of the local power
has covered three distinct stages:
First stage: perpetuation of the soviet-type centralized territorial administrative delimitation,
which covers the period from the declaration of Independence till the end of
the 1998.
Second stage: trying to build the territorial system of exercising the local public power
in the spirit of the decentralization and local autonomy principles, which lasted from
the end of the 1998 till 2003.
Third stage: returning to the centralized territorial organization of the local public
power, which started in 2003 and lasts until now. There was a return at the soviet
system of local public power organization; the number of local collectivities of the first
level was increased by 30% compared to the previous period.
In this article has been analyzed these three distinct stages of the reforming process of
the local power territorial organization in the Republic of Moldova.

The Gnassingbé clan has ruled the country since 1967. The demand for political alternance, constituted the major contentious issue between the government and the challengers of the Gnassingbé regime throughout the survey period. The first local elections since more than 30 years took finally place on 30 June 2019 and resulted in the victory of the ruling party. Shortly afterwards, in February 2020, the President won also the disputed presidential elections and thus consolidated his power, assisted by the loyal army and security services. The outbreak of the Corona epidemic in Togo in April 2020 and the subsequent economic recession may have contributed to limit popular protest against the Gnassingbé regime. The human rights record of the government has improved but remains poor. Despite undeniable improvements to the framework and appearance of the regime's key institutions during the review period, democracy remains far from complete. However, the international community, notably Togo's African peers, the AU and ECOWAS, followed a 'laissez-faire' approach in the interests of regional stability and their national interests in dealing with Togo. Economic growth remained stable at about 5% per annum (before Corona). Public investment in infrastructure and increases in agricultural productivity, notably of export crops, had been the key drivers of economic growth. However, growth remains vulnerable to external shocks and the climate and has not been inclusive. Moreover, it was overshadowed by increasing inter-personal and regional inequality as well as an increase in extreme poverty. Money-laundering, illegal money transfers and trafficking grew alarmingly. Nevertheless, the business climate improved considerably.

Divorce, common-law marriage and illegitimacy (irrespective of its forms) were, no matter the society typology as the phenomenon is approached, forms of social deviation that entailed the dilution of the family image and norms. We do not discuss here about a dilution of the traditional norms concerning family, as someone might misunderstand, it was an erosion of the idea of family in general. The "family" could acquire different forms as compared to the "official" one. Paradoxically, all these were not only the result of personal emancipation, when the youth broke from the traditional norms, which were strongly influenced by religious norms and values, and would have got involved in "dangerous and shameful relationships". The peasant "forgot" to marry his woman not out of emancipation. The theory of personal emancipation leading to the erosion of the idea of family through the dilution of traditional norms, which was valid from the urban perspective (here, due to the affirmation of modernity, the alterity of religious norms led to such relationships), was not supported in the peasant countryside.
The Church fought all these. In fact, the bishopric sent guidelines to priests to take steps against common-law marriages very often. Despite priests' endeavours, the results were not considerable. Few priests could boast (after the first recommendation) in their subsequent parish report to have significantly contributed to diminishing the number of common-law marriages in their parish. The Church faced another issue brought about by its long debate with the State to control the act of marriage. The marriage laws set out in 1894 were the most complex laws regulating the political-religious relations in the matrimonial field in the second half of the 19th century. Due to their clarity, they managed to put an end to the conflicts between the lay and church authorities. Moreover, the debate concerning matrimonial issues for different confessions ended, too, in favour of the State. The State managed to impose its authority in the matrimonial field. The Church was thus compelled to accept the increased competence of the State by introducing the civil documents. All these caused mutations that triggered very different behaviours. Nevertheless, the Church kept imposing religious marriage, divorce and re-marriage for all its parishioners. In such a situation, by analysing the evolution of common-law marriages from the perspective of the Church, we may notice that, on the level of the whole area we focused on, there was a greater easiness in approaching religious marriage after 1895, once the compulsory civil marriage was imposed. The perception of the divorce also changed when the civil matrimonial law was introduced at the end of 1894. Through a last effort, as the Church did not acknowledge lay divorce, they did not grant the right to a second marriage to the individuals. Moreover, from the perspective of the Church, the possible future marriage was considered as a mere common-law marriage, although the State approved of the divorce and the second marriage in which a divorced partner was involved.