It is composed of a legally determined number of counsellors (for example 35 in Bălți) elected every four years, representing political parties and independent counsellors. Once elected, counsellors may form fractions inside of the Municipal Council. Last regional elections of local public administration held in Bălți in June 2007, brought to the power the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), which holds 21 mandates, 11 mandates are held by representatives of other parties, and 3 mandates by independents. There are two fractions in the Municipal Council: PCRM fraction (21 counsellors) and "Meleag" fraction (3 independent counsellors and 4 representatives of different parties). The Mayor of the municipality is elected for four years. In Bălți, Vasile Panciuc (PCRM) is the incumbent from 2001 and was re-elected twice: in 2003 during the anticipated elections (as a result of a new reform of the administrative division in Moldova in 2003), and in 2007. In Chișinău, the last mayor elections had to be repeated three times, because of the low rate of participation. As a result, Dorin Chirtoacă (Liberal Party), won the last mayor elections in Chișinău. In the Netherlands the municipal council (Dutch: "gemeenteraad") is the elected assembly of the municipality. It consists of between 9 and 45 members (as determined by law) who are elected by the citizens once every four years. The council's main tasks are setting the city's policies and overseeing the execution of those policies by the municipality's executive board. The municipal council (), literally municipal board, is the highest governing body of the municipality in Norway. The municipal council sets the scope of municipal activity, takes major decisions, and delegates responsibility. The council is led by a mayor ("ordfører") s divided into an executive council ("formannskap") and a number of committees, each responsible for a subsection of tasks. It is not uncommon for some members of the council to sit in the county councils too, but very rare that they also hold legislative (Storting) or Government office, without leave of absence. The municipal council dates back to 1837 with the creation of the "Formannskabsdistrikt". In cities the council is often called a city council ("bystyre"). In the Republic of China, a municipal council represents a special municipality.