THE NEED FOR AFFIRMATION OF THE MECHANISMS FOR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF CITIZENS IN THE CRЕАTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCAL POLICIES
Journal
From Policy Design to Policy Practice e-Proceedings of the 27th NISPAcee Annual Conference May 24-26, 2019 Prague, Czech Republic
Date Issued
2019-05
Author(s)
Shumanovska-Spasovska Ivana
Abstract
The right to express an opinion and the right of the citizens to participate in the decisionmaking on issues of public interest is a right that is directly recognized by the Constitution, as the
highest legal act, as well as by the Law on Local Self-Government, which defines it as an
individual or collective involvement of the residents of the municipality in decisions regarding
affairs of local importance at different levels of decision-making, while, on the other hand, the
procedure for the realization of the forms of direct expression, at both state and local level, is
determined by the Law on Referendum and other forms of direct expression. The significance of
this issue is also indicated in the international acts and documents, among which we highlight the
European Charter for Local Self-Government and Recommendation 19 of 2001. Consequently,
one of the main goals of this research is to carry out the analysis of the legal framework that
regulates this issue from a theoretical, legal and comparative aspect.
In the paper, special emphasis will be put on answering the questions that are related to:
determining the reasons that influence the reduction of the intensity of the citizen participation in
the political process, whether there is a need to add elements of participative democracy to the
model of representative democracy, as well as whether the institutions take sufficient measures
that are adequate for affirmation of citizen participation in the decision-making at the local level?
Namely, the direct participation of citizens in the realization of the political process is an
expression of the participatory democracy. The direct participation of citizens in the governance
process is regarded as a fundamental right in a democratic society, an opportunity for the citizens
to contribute in achieving a better life and overall progress. Therefore, citizens should be
informed, adequately and timely consulted and complementary participation of the citizens with
their representatives should be provided. As a special recommendation, we would like to
emphasize the need for affirmation not only of the use of the forms of direct expression such as
the referendum, the gathering of citizens and the civic initiative, but also to promote the role of
civic forums, citizen panels, public opinion polls, focus groups, etc. All of these measures would
affect the strengthening of democracy, the fulfillment of the principle of accountability and
transparency in the work of the institutions, and the improvement of the efficiency and
effectiveness of decision-making process.
highest legal act, as well as by the Law on Local Self-Government, which defines it as an
individual or collective involvement of the residents of the municipality in decisions regarding
affairs of local importance at different levels of decision-making, while, on the other hand, the
procedure for the realization of the forms of direct expression, at both state and local level, is
determined by the Law on Referendum and other forms of direct expression. The significance of
this issue is also indicated in the international acts and documents, among which we highlight the
European Charter for Local Self-Government and Recommendation 19 of 2001. Consequently,
one of the main goals of this research is to carry out the analysis of the legal framework that
regulates this issue from a theoretical, legal and comparative aspect.
In the paper, special emphasis will be put on answering the questions that are related to:
determining the reasons that influence the reduction of the intensity of the citizen participation in
the political process, whether there is a need to add elements of participative democracy to the
model of representative democracy, as well as whether the institutions take sufficient measures
that are adequate for affirmation of citizen participation in the decision-making at the local level?
Namely, the direct participation of citizens in the realization of the political process is an
expression of the participatory democracy. The direct participation of citizens in the governance
process is regarded as a fundamental right in a democratic society, an opportunity for the citizens
to contribute in achieving a better life and overall progress. Therefore, citizens should be
informed, adequately and timely consulted and complementary participation of the citizens with
their representatives should be provided. As a special recommendation, we would like to
emphasize the need for affirmation not only of the use of the forms of direct expression such as
the referendum, the gathering of citizens and the civic initiative, but also to promote the role of
civic forums, citizen panels, public opinion polls, focus groups, etc. All of these measures would
affect the strengthening of democracy, the fulfillment of the principle of accountability and
transparency in the work of the institutions, and the improvement of the efficiency and
effectiveness of decision-making process.
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