CHAPTER 23
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND LOCAL DEMOCRACY
Article 146 — Constitutional Status of Local Self-Government
Local self-government is recognized and guaranteed as an essential component of democratic government in the Republic.
Local self-government shall be exercised by the population directly and through elected local representative and executive bodies within the framework of the unitary state.
The Republic shall ensure local democratic participation, local accountability, and access to public services throughout its territory.
No law may abolish local self-government or reduce it to a merely formal administrative function.
Local self-government shall not exercise powers that amount to territorial autonomy, independent sovereignty, or any legislative, fiscal, diplomatic, or security authority that conflicts with national law or the unitary character of the Republic. Any attempt to assume such powers is void and subject to judicial review.
Article 147 — Principles of Local Government
Local government shall be based on: a) democracy; b) legality; c) accountability to the local population; d) transparency; e) financial responsibility; f) equal access to local public services; g) respect for the unitary nature of the state.
Local authorities shall act independently in matters within their competence and under judicial protection.
The state may not interfere in local self-government except on the basis of law and only to protect legality, constitutional rights, national standards, or the unity of the state.
Article 148 — Administrative-Territorial Units
The territorial organization of the Republic shall be determined by constitutional law.
Counties, cities of republican significance, districts, cities, towns, villages, and other local communities may form units of local government as established by law.
Changes to local territorial boundaries, mergers, divisions, or status shall be made only by law and, where constitutional law so requires, after consultation with the affected population.
Territorial organization may not be manipulated for partisan advantage or to weaken democratic representation.
Article 149 — Elected Akims (Mayors)
Akims (Mayors) shall be elected by direct, free, equal, and secret vote of the population of the relevant territorial unit.
An akim (mayor) shall be elected by simple majority of valid votes cast, unless constitutional law provides a second round where no candidate obtains the threshold established by law.
The term of office of an akim shall be established by constitutional law and shall be compatible with democratic accountability and local stability.
Akims are accountable to the local population, local representative bodies, and the Constitution.
Akims may not simultaneously hold incompatible offices established by constitutional law.
Article 150 — Local Representative Bodies
Local representative bodies shall be elected by direct vote of the population of the corresponding territorial unit.
These bodies shall adopt local normative acts within their competence, approve local budgets, oversee local executive activity, and represent the local population.
Local representative bodies shall act publicly, collegially, and transparently.
Their sessions, voting records, budgets, procurement decisions, and normative acts shall be published in accessible digital form.
Article 151 — Competence of Local Government
Matters of local self-government shall be defined by constitutional law and ordinary law in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity, legality, and equal public service.
Local authorities shall have competence, at minimum, in matters such as: a) local infrastructure; b) housing and communal services; c) local roads and transport within the scope defined by law; d) local social support programs consistent with national law; e) local public amenities, environment, and land-use administration within national standards; f) local cultural and educational support functions assigned by law; g) public participation through local popular initiatives, public consultations, participatory budgeting, and other mechanisms established by constitutional law.
The transfer of powers to local authorities shall be accompanied by adequate legal and financial means for their exercise.
No unfunded transfer of duties may be imposed on local authorities in violation of constitutional law.
Article 152 — Local Accountability and Recall
Local elected officials are accountable to the local population.
Local elected officials may be recalled by the people under the lower thresholds established by constitutional law, consistent with Article 104 of this Constitution.
Local representative bodies may exercise lawful oversight over akims and local executive structures as established by law.
Recall, censure, and local accountability mechanisms shall not be used arbitrarily or in bad faith and remain subject to judicial review.
Article 153 — State Supervision of Legality
Supervision by the state over local authorities shall be limited to review of legality and constitutional compliance, except where law provides specific national standards in matters of public safety, finance, or rights protection.
State supervision may not substitute political judgment for local democratic choice in matters within lawful local competence.
Dissolution, suspension, or removal of local bodies by state authorities shall be permitted only in cases of grave constitutional or legal violation and only under judicial control or other constitutionally regulated procedure.
Article 154 — Local Participation and Civic Engagement
Local self-government shall encourage public participation through local popular initiatives, public hearings, participatory budgeting, digital participation tools, and other consultative mechanisms established by constitutional law.
Local referendums are prohibited and may not be used to alter the unitary character of the state, transfer sovereignty, or decide matters reserved for national competence.
Local digital participation systems shall satisfy the same constitutional standards of security, transparency, auditability, and accessibility applicable to national digital democracy, adjusted to local scale.
Local authorities shall facilitate accessible channels for citizen input into budgeting, planning, and local normative acts while observing national constitutional safeguards.
Article 154a — Enforcement of the Unfunded Mandate Prohibition
No national law, governmental decree, or administrative act may transfer functions, duties, or public service obligations to local authorities without simultaneously transferring the financial means necessary for their exercise, established by reference to actual cost and verified by the supreme audit institution.
Where a national authority transfers a duty to a local authority without adequate funding, the local authority may: a) notify the Government in writing of the funding deficiency within thirty (30) days of the transfer coming into effect; b) apply to an administrative court for a declaration of unfunded mandate within sixty (60) days; the court shall decide within forty-five (45) days; c) if the court finds an unfunded mandate, the Government shall remedy the funding gap within sixty (60) days of the judgment; failure to remedy constitutes a continuing constitutional violation.
The Ombudsman and the supreme audit institution shall each have standing to initiate proceedings on behalf of a local authority that is unable or unwilling to challenge an unfunded mandate itself.
A local authority that cannot fulfill a transferred function due to a documented funding deficiency shall not be subject to state dissolution or disciplinary action arising from that failure alone while a legal challenge to the unfunded mandate is pending.
Article 154b — Local Civil Service and Integrity
Employees of local authorities who perform public functions shall be subject to the same constitutional principles of merit, political neutrality, and anti-corruption as established in Chapter 24, adapted to the scale of local government by constitutional law.
Local elected officials — including akims — shall publicly disclose their assets, liabilities, income, and the financial interests of their immediate family members within sixty (60) days of election or appointment and annually thereafter within thirty (30) days of the end of each calendar year. Disclosures shall be published on the official local government portal within seven (7) days of receipt.
The Civil Service Commission established under Article 155a shall have oversight authority over local civil service merit procedures and may investigate complaints of political patronage or nepotism in local public employment.