Direct Democracy - Associations demand lower thresholds for popular initiatives
Multiple organizations in Brandenburg consider the expansion of citizen participation as an essential instrument against democracy apathy. The association More Democracy, the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz (BUND), and the association Mitmachen issued a call to the future state government and new state parliament.
"Well-designed participation is an essential building block to counter polarization and political dissatisfaction in the country," said Oliver Wiedmann, spokesperson for the Brandenburg branch of More Democracy e.V. The focus is on granting citizens more cooperative rights between elections. In Brandenburg, a new state parliament will be elected on September 22.
Lower thresholds and citizen councils demanded
The organizations lamented that Brandenburg is the only eastern German federal state where citizens cannot collect signatures for citizens' initiatives on the street. Additionally, Brandenburgers have not been able to vote on building plan approvals so far. This is a topic that regularly burns under the fingernails of people, it was stated.
Moreover, according to the demands of the associations, communal representatives should be able to initiate citizen referendums themselves in the future, and citizen councils should be introduced, which are determined by lottery. A Democracy Promotion Law is demanded.
More Democracy: Consultation on Tesla caused frustration
Wiedmann, spokesperson for More Democracy, criticized that the rejecting citizen vote in Grünheide for the expansion of the Tesla site remained non-binding. A participation in the planning phase and a binding vote at the end would have been more meaningful here.
The BUND-state chairwoman Franziska Sperfeld lamented that, after much work for the citizens' initiative for biodiversity, a compromise with government representatives and farmers' association was agreed upon, which, however, had not been implemented by the parliament. "Dialog formats organized by the government, which bind many resources and in the end run aground, increase political frustration even among constructive forces."
In Brandenburg, according to More Democracy, there have been 59 citizens' initiatives so far. This included issues related to traffic, wind turbines, and hospitals.
The call of the associations for more citizen participation can now be signed online on the OpenPetition platform. It should then go to the parties represented in parliament after the state election.
The Greens in the state parliament reacted with support to the call. The fraction leader Benjamin Raschke said: "We demand citizen councils, a transparency law for the state parliament and government, as well as a Democracy Promotion Law, to give civil society a reliable organizational and financial framework for its democratic engagement. The pencil should not be allowed to be set against democracy, as it needs more money!"
- The association More Democracy, along with BUND and Mitmachen, advocated for lower thresholds and the introduction of citizen councils in their call to the upcoming Brandenburg state government, aiming to increase citizen participation in decision-making processes related to the environment and other important issues.
- Brandenburg is the only eastern German federal state where people cannot collect signatures for citizens' initiatives on the street, leading to frustration among organizations such as More Democracy, who believe that this hinders the People's Initiative and limits societal involvement in shaping their environment and democracy.
- The failure to implement the agreed-upon compromise from the citizens' initiative for biodiversity, which was championed by BUND-state chairwoman Franziska Sperfeld, has fueled political dissatisfaction, highlighting the importance of enhancing citizen participation and promoting democracy in Brandenburg.
- In response to the call for more citizen participation, the Greens in the state parliament expressed their support, pledging to push for the creation of citizen councils, a transparency law, and a Democracy Promotion Law to empower civil society and prevent the erosion of democracy in Potsdam and throughout Brandenburg.
