A STUDY IN PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY: THE 2004 SÃO TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPE NATIONAL FORUM APRIL 2005 Photo: Josh Chaffin CLARA ALBUQUERQUE JOSHUA CHAFFIN PAULO CUNHA XAVIER PIERLUCA MICA ROSENBERG SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AMANCIO ALICANTE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW1 1 Contact information: Clara Albuquerque <
[email protected]>, Joshua Chaffin <
[email protected]>, Paulo Cunha <
[email protected]>, Mica Rosenberg <
[email protected]>, Xavier Pierluca <
[email protected]>, Amancio Alicante <
[email protected]>. Report prepared for SIPA’s Workshop in Applied Development, Spring 2005, under the guidance of Macartan Humphreys and Jackie Klopp. Executive Summary In June and July of 2004, 56 public meetings were held throughout the African island nation of São Tomé & Príncipe, culminating in a three-day session with citizen delegates and government officials. This “National Forum of Reconciliation” was undertaken to comply with the political settlement of a 2003 coup attempt. While two previous Forums were widely perceived as having failed, it was hoped that a more participatory structure could help resolve some of the country’s political rifts. Participants in the 2004 forum were educated on the issue of future petroleum revenues, and information was gathered about their development priorities and preferences. At the end of the Forum policy recommendations were made to the government. Despite these successes, it was unclear from the Forum's inception if the process would be sustainable. Although the President of São Tomé & Príncipe called for implementation of the Forum's recommendations, there was no indication how this would be accomplished. In addition, no committee was established to follow-up on the Forum although this was one of the recommendations of the process.