Local government is a form of public administration which in a majority of

contexts, exists as the lowest tier of administration within a given state. The term is used
to contrast with offices at state level, which are referred to as the central government,
national government, or (where appropriate) federal government and also to
supranational government which deals with governing institutions between states. Local
governments generally act within powers delegated to them by legislation or directives
of the higher level of government. In federal states, local government generally
comprises the third (or sometimes fourth) tier of government, whereas in unitary states,
local government usually occupies the second or third tier of government, often with
greater powers than higher-level administrative divisions.
The question of municipal autonomy is a key question of public administration and
governance. The institutions of local government vary greatly between countries, and
even where similar arrangements exist, the terminology often varies. Common names
for local government entities include state, province, region, department, county,
prefecture, district, city, township, town, borough, parish, municipality, shire and village.
The territory of Romania is organized administratively into communes, towns and
counties. Some towns are declared municipalities, according to the provisions of the
law. The communes, towns, municipalities and counties are territorial- administrative
units, where local government authorities are organised and function. There are three
hierarchical levels: national, county and local.
The county level is represented by the 42 counties of Romania, including also
Bucharest Municipality. Each county has its residence at municipality level, representing
the political, economic, social cultural and scientific center of the county.
At each county level, the local government authority is exerted by a County
Council, coordinating the activities of commune, town and municipality councils. The
Government of Romania appoints a prefect for each county, inclusively for Bucharest
Municipality, who are state representatives at local level. The Prefect directs the
deconcentrated public services of ministries and other bodies of the central government
in the territorial-administrative units.
The local level comprises 2851 communes, 216 towns and 103 municipalities8.
The communes, towns and municipalities have their own Local Council (deliberative
authority) and a mayor (executive authority), elected after the poll organized on a term of
4 years.
Bucharest Municipality is organised on 6 territorial-administrative subdivisions,
called sectors. Bucharest Municipality has a General Council of Bucharest Municipality
and General Mayor of the capital and each sector has a local council and a mayor.
In 1997 a new structuring of Romania into 8 development regions has been
proposed. The regions, which are not territorial-administrative units, are set up by
gathering counties, aimed to develop European financial assistance programmes within
European Union regional development policies. Projects on creating metropolitan areas
exist in most large cities in Romania. The metropolitan area is expressed by the
association structures between territorial-administrative units, around Capital -
Bucharest Metropolitan Area - or those around municipalities, county residence: Oradea,
Iaşi, Arad, Cluj-Napoca, Timişoara, Baia-Mare, Târgu-Mureş, Braşov, Bacău and Galaţi.
EXERCISE 1. Fill in the sentences using the following words:

crisis 11 provinces 3 royal 6 colony 13 empower 5 urban 12 vote 4

campaign 8 district 10 abolished 9 governed 1 boundary 7 council 14 bribe 2

1. Mexico was _______________ by the same political party throughout its entire history, until the
election of Vicente Fox.
2. The president apparently accepted a _______________ of over $350,000 from a corporation hoping to
get a major contract with the government.
3. Canada is divided into 10 _______________ and 3 territories.
4. Who are you going to _______________ for in the election?
5. Education helps to _______________ people, allowing them to change and improve their lives.
6. The British _______________ family has had a lot of difficulties over the last few years, with divorce,
death, and a number of other problems.
7. The river acts as a natural _______________ between the two nations.
8. The government is running a _______________ to try to convince teenagers not to start smoking.
9. The death penalty was _______________ in this country about 50 years ago.
10. We visited the super-expensive shopping _______________ when we were in L.A.
11. The Asian financial _______________ has had serious effects on the economy of British Columbia.
12. Most Canadians now live in _______________ areas of our country.
13. The French started a _______________ in Canada about 100 years before the English.
14. He goes to all the meetings of the city _______________ to complain about the development in his
neighbourhood.

EXERCISE 2. Fill in the sentences using the following words:

elected 3 zone 9 ally 8 rural 5 state 14 unite 10 border 12

suburb 6 combat 11 citizen 1 protest 4 parliament 7 boycott 13 nation 2
1. He lives and works in New Zealand, but he is still a _______________ of the U.S.
2. The entire _______________ celebrated when their soccer team came home with the Olympic gold
medal.
3. Her classmates _______________ her president of the student council.
4. Several hundred people gathered to _______________ the government's decision to cut the
education budget.
5. Many people think of crowded Tokyo subways when they think of Japan, forgetting how much of the
country is still _______________ and traditional.
6. The little village that I grew up in is now just a _______________ of a major city.
7. The legislation is expected to pass in _______________ sometime this week.
8. Canada is usually a close _______________ of Great Britain in foreign affairs.
9. You must slow down to about 30 kilometres an hour when driving through a school _______________
between dawn and dusk.
10. Many people in South Korea hope that one day the north and south will _______________ in a single
country once again.
11. Doctors are trying to _______________ the spread of AIDS with a new miracle drug.
12. Brazil shares a common _______________ with all South American countries, except Ecuador and
Chile.
13. Many people have decided to _______________ that store because their clothes are made in
factories where the workers are treated really badly.
14. More people live in California than in any other _______________ in the U.S.
EXERCISE 3. Fill in the sentences using the following words:

charity 8 accord 10 candidate 2 territory 4 crown 1 political 6 era 9

ballot 12 villages 5 spy 3 riot 13 forbids 7 corrupt 11

1. The king wore a beautiful _______________ of gold, emeralds and diamonds.

2. The NDP _______________ is leading in the polls with the election only a few days away.
3. The British government has accused an official in the Russian embassy of being a _______________.
4. The _______________ of French Polynesia covers an area, including inland water, of about 1,550
square miles.
5. Many people are leaving the _______________ in the hopes of finding jobs in the big cities.
6. Throughout the centuries, the _______________ structure of ancient China varied with cycles of civil
war and conquest.
7. The law _______________ you from drinking alcohol and then driving a car.
8. When she died, she left all her money to a _______________ which helps children in developing
countries.
9. The period of the fall of the Berlin Wall was an _______________ of great political change in Eastern
Europe.
10. Canada and China have just signed an _______________ on reducing barriers to trade.
11. The former president was obviously _______________, and is accused of having stolen millions of
dollars from the country.
12. Mark an X on the _______________ beside the name of the candidate of your choice.
13. In 1964, 318 fans were killed, and more than 500 injured in a _______________ that broke out
during a soccer match in Peru.

EXERCISE 4. Fill in the sentences using the following words:

opposition 7 democracy 4 monarchy 2 candidate 3 bureaucracy 10

oligarchy 1 voting 6 executive 8 campaign 9 dictatorship 5

1. The term ____________ refers to a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a
small number of people.
2. The form of government in which the head of state is a king or queen is called __________.
3. A __________ is a person seeking or nominated for election to a position of authority such as
president, prime minister etc.
4. A __________ is a form of government in which all eligible people have an equal say in the decisions
that affect their lives.
5. A __________ refers to an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an
individual.
6. The formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office
is known as __________
7. The __________ comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed
to the government.
8. The __________ branch of government is the part of government that has sole authority and
responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy.
9. Election __________ is a series of coordinated activities, such as public speaking and demonstrating,
designed to achieve a social, political purpose.
10.The term __________ refers to an administrative system in which the need or inclination to follow
rigid or complex procedures impedes effective action.
EXERCISE 5. PEOPLE IN THE GOVERNMENT. Write a letter in each blank to match the words on the left
to the definitions on the right.

__e___ President a) The leader of a city

__j___ Prime Minister b) A king or queen
__b__ Monarch c) A “member” of a country
__d___ Dictator d) A person who controls a country by force
___g__Legislator e) The leader of a country (usually elected, like in the USA)
___h__Governor f) A person who votes for the representatives in a country
___a__ Mayor g) One of the people who makes the laws in a country
__k___ Representative h) The leader of a state
___i__ Secretary (US) / Minister (UK) i) A person appointed by the president to lead a department in
the government
___c__ citizen j) The leader of a country (usually appointed, like in the UK)
____f_ voter k) Any person who represents other people

EXERCISE 6. Read the definitions and the sentences below and translate them into Romanian:

majority party – the political party with the most members in a government
minority party – a political party other than the majority party
In the recent elections, the Democrats became the majority party in Congress, and the Republicans are
now the minority party.

propose – to suggest; to put out an idea (for a law, rule, etc.)

bill – a law that has been proposed but has not been approved yet
Senator Smith wrote a bill proposing that we lower the income tax rate for all citizens. Since Senator
Smith is in the minority party, this bill is not expected to pass.

committee – a group of people (in the legislature) who work on specific issues and sometimes write
reports or propose laws
After spending months analyzing the government’s budget, the Finance Committee proposed some
spending cuts this week.

alliance – an agreement between people or groups to work together for the same goal
Two minority parties formed an alliance to prevent the majority party from achieving its goals.

negotiate – to talk or discuss an issue in order to reach an agreement

After weeks of negotiations, the majority party and the minority party reached an agreement.

institute (v.) – to establish or set up (a law, policy, etc.)

policy – an official plan for how a person/group/government behaves
Congress instituted a new policy that requires every member to vote on a bill.

corruption – dishonesty or illegal behavior by people in power

Many people no longer trust the government due to the rampant corruption that has occurred in recent
years.
Governor Ryan was found guilty of corruption because he took money from his brother’s oil company
and then proposed a new energy policy that would help his brother’s company.

revolutionize – to cause very big changes

The internet revolutionized how we communicate with people.
This new health care bill will revolutionize the health care system in this country.

rights – benefits that are guaranteed to people by a law, constitution, policy, etc.
privileges – special benefits that are only available to certain people
Everyone in this country has the right to free speech. However, not everyone has the right to drive a car.
You must first get a driver’s license, and this license can be taken away. So driving is a privilege, not a
right.

EXERCISE 7. Fill in the sentences using the words in the box.

majority party 2 proposed 10 bill 1 committee 6 right 5 revolutionized 4

minority party 2 alliance 3 negotiate 9 instituted 11 policy 7 corruption 8
privilege 5

1. The Senators voted on a __________ that would make gambling illegal.

2. The Democratic party has 60% of the representatives in our legislature, so they are the
_________________. The Republicans, with only 40%, are the _______________.
3. The two minority parties have an ____________ which helps them stop the majority party from
passing laws.
4. The invention of the internet and email has _______________ the way we communicate with each
other.
5. In the USA, everyone has the __________ to go to elementary school, junior high, and high school.
Going to college, however, is considered a __________ -- not everyone has the right to do it.
6. The budget ____________ will meet next week to decide how much money to spend next year.
7. According to school __________, girls are not allowed to wear mini-skirts and boys are not allowed to
have long hair.
8. People are frustrated in the government because there is so much lying and ____________. No one
trusts their representatives anymore.
9. Mexico and the United States are meeting this week to ____________ a trade agreement that would
lower taxes and allow free trade between the two countries.
10. Senator Johnson ____________ a bill that would make smoking illegal, but the other Senators voted
against it, so it did not become law.
11. Alfred Nobel ____________ the Nobel Prize in 1895 to award major accomplishments in science and
culture.

EXERCISE 8. Match the words on the right with their definitions on the left

1. Constituency a) Member of Parliament. 2

2. MP b) To choose who you want to be your MP. 5
3. Minister c) A group of people with similar political beliefs, for example Labour or
Conservative. 6
4. General election d) A geographical area represented by one MP. 1
5. Vote e) An MP with some special responsibility. 3
6. Political party f) A time when everyone in the country chooses the government. 4
EXERCISE 9. Read the text below and decide if the statements are true or false:

The term Democracy comes from the Greek words dêmos (people) and Kratos (power). In its
literal meaning, democracy means the "rule of the people". In fact it is a form of government in which all
eligible people have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy as a political system
existed in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a popular uprising in 508 BC.
Equality and freedom have both been identified as important characteristics of democracy since
ancient times. These principles are reflected in all citizens being equal before the law and having equal
access to legislative processes. For example, in a representative democracy, every vote has equal weight,
no unreasonable restrictions can apply to anyone seeking to become a representative, and the freedom
of its citizens is secured by legitimized rights and liberties which are generally protected by a
constitution.
There are several varieties of democracy, some of which provide better representation and more
freedom for their citizens than others. However, if any democracy is not structured so as to prohibit the
government from excluding the people from the legislative process, or any branch of government from
altering the separation of powers in its own favor, then a branch of the system can accumulate too much
power and destroy the democracy. Separation of powers is a model of governance under which the state
is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that
no one branch has more power than the other branches. The normal division of branches is into an
executive, a legislature, and a judiciary.

1. Democracy is a new system of governance.

a. True
b. False

2. The most important principles of democracy are equality and freedom.

a. True.
b. False.

3. The separation of powers threatens democracy

a. True
b. False