Editing Local government (section)

===Bulgaria===
{{Main article|Provinces of Bulgaria|Municipalities of Bulgaria}}

Since the 1880s, the number of territorial management units in [[Bulgaria]] has varied from seven to 26.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mrrb.government.bg/index.php?do=atums&id=5&lang=bg&type=69|title=Историческо развитие на административно – териториалното устройство на Република България|publisher=Ministry of Regional Development|language=bg|access-date=26 December 2011}}</ref> Between 1987 and 1999 the administrative structure consisted of nine provinces (''oblasti'', singular ''[[oblast]]''). A new administrative structure was adopted in parallel with the decentralisation of the economic system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mrrb.government.bg/index.php?lang=bg&do=atums&type=71&id=13|title=Областите в България. Портрети|publisher=Ministry of Regional Development|access-date=4 December 2011|archive-date=19 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619040835/http://www.mrrb.government.bg/index.php?lang=bg&do=atums&type=71&id=13|url-status=dead}}</ref> It includes 27 provinces and a metropolitan capital province (Sofia-Grad). All areas take their names from their respective capital cities. The provinces subdivide into 264 [[Municipalities of Bulgaria|municipalities]].

Municipalities are run by mayors, who are elected to four-year terms, and by directly elected municipal councils. Bulgaria is a highly [[centralization|centralised]] state, where the national Council of Ministers directly appoints regional governors and all provinces and municipalities are heavily dependent on it for funding.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Country Profile: Bulgaria|via=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|publisher=Library of Congress|year=2006|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Bulgaria.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Bulgaria.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=1 April 2016
|page=17}}</ref>