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Direct Democracy Direct Democracy The International IDEA Handbook Direct Democracy The International IDEA Handbook Lead Writers and Editors Contributors Virginia Beramendi Jennifer Somalie Angeyo Andrew Ellis Nadja Braun Bruno Kaufman Mugyenyi Silver Byanyima Miriam Kornblith Algis Krupavicius Larry LeDuc Humberto de la Calle Lombana Paddy McGuire Krisztina Medve Theo Schiller Alfred Lock Okello Oryem Palle Svensson Rodolfo Gonzáles Rissotto Daniel Zovatto Handbook Series The International IDEA Handbook Series seeks to present comparative analysis, information and insights on a range of democratic institutions and processes. Handbooks are aimed primarily at policy makers, politicians, civil society actors and practitioners in the field. They are also of interest to academia, the democracy assistance community and other bodies. © International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance 2008 International IDEA publications are independent of specific national or political interests. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of International IDEA, its Board or its Council members. The map presented in this publication does not imply on the part of the Institute any judgement on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement of such boundaries, nor does the placement or size of any country or territory reflect the political view of the Institute. The map is created for this publication in order to add clarity to the text. Applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or any part of this publication should be made to: International IDEA SE -103 34 Stockholm Sweden International IDEA encourages dissemination of its work and will promptly respond to requests for permission to reproduce or translate its publications. Cover design by: Helena Lunding Map design: Kristina Schollin-Borg Graphic design by: Bulls Graphics AB Printed by: Bulls Graphics AB ISBN: 978-91-85724-50-5 Foreword Democracy has different faces. This Handbook considers whether, when and how the use of electoral direct democracy mechanisms is conducive to enhancing democratic systems. It gives an overview of the usage of direct democracy in all regions of the world, and examines six countries – Hungary, Switzerland, Uganda, the United States (Oregon), Uruguay and Venezuela. Direct Democracy: The International IDEA Handbook provides recommendations and best practices, offering a critical analysis for those who may be considering the adoption of one or more instruments of direct democracy, or for those who may be seeking to make existing institutions and processes perform more effectively. Switzerland opted for the system of direct democracy. The right of optional referendums, incorporated into the Swiss constitution in 1874, allows citizens to have the ultimate say on laws enacted by the parliament. In 1891, a modification to the constitution further introduced the popular initiative which allows citizens to request that a partial revision be made to the constitution. These two instruments of direct democracy exist at the federal and local levels. Direct democracy can sometimes be perceived as slowing down social progress, and has shown its limits when used by political parties to introduce, for instance, xenophobic measures under cover of the protection of national sovereignty and cultural identity. It is, however, a unique mechanism which, by encouraging citizen participation and popular freedom of speech, contributes to avoiding social conflict and permits the launch of political debate on given themes. With this new Handbook, International IDEA offers policy makers and actors engaged in the democractic reform process some thoughts and reflections on the enhanced participation of citizens in building democracy in an evolving society. Micheline Calmy-Rey Minister of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland III Preface Democracy indicates an involvement of the people in the functioning of their government. A wide range of democratic practices exist in order to further engage citizens in making political and institutional decisions. The level to which this engagement occurs is mandated either by the constitution or by individual governments through legislation and through the choice and design of the electoral system. While some countries offer more provisions for direct citizen participation within the constitutional framework, others have tighter restrictions. This Handbook explores four mechanisms of direct democracy designed to give the electorate increased opportunities to involve themselves in the running of their governments – referendums, citizens’ initiatives, agenda initiatives and recall. The Handbook also surveys the range of uses for each of these four mechanisms and, by highlighting best practices, notes when and how each mechanism can best be used. The case studies throughout the book offer a unique comparison of the various direct democracy mechanisms and how they have been tailored to the needs of individual countries and contexts. International IDEA aims to support democracy-building processes globally, and offers insights into the variety of ways in which democracy can be advanced. This Handbook addresses issues ranging from questions of institutional design and the initial adoption of any one or more direct democracy mechanisms, to their implementation and the potential obstacles that might be encountered during this phase. The target audience of this book is not only policy makers and practitioners but also those working in the field of democracy support and assistance, namely civil society, non-governmental organizations and academics. This Handbook does not aim to resolve ongoing debates on direct democracy but rather aims to bring out the variety of potential participatory approaches and ways of realizing them that can be tailored to individual democracies as necessary. In addition to the authors and contributors, International IDEA would like to thank all those who have assisted in the editing, assembly and production of the Handbook, in particular those mentioned in the acknowledgements. Vidar Helgesen Secretary-General International IDEA IV Acknowledgements A great number of organizations and individuals have contributed to this work. In addition to the writers, editors and contributors we would like to acknowledge the support provided by Richard Sinnott, Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, Nitin Khanna, Gonzalo Arguello, David Altman, Hans-Urs Wili, Kristina Lemon, Volker Mittendorf, Zoltan Tibor Pallinger, Alexandra Panzarelli, Yume Kitasei, Florencia Enghel, Lisa Hagman and Ileana Aguilera. Special thanks go to our copyeditor, Eve Johansson, for her patience and meticulous attention to detail. We also thank editorial anchors Mélida Jiménez and Shana Kaiser as well as the rest of the Management and Research Team who made this publication possible: Adhy Aman, Erika Beckman, Hanna Berheim, Ellie Greenwood, Paul Guerin, Stina Larserud and Ola Pettersson. We also acknowledge with gratitude the valuable contribution of all the Electoral Management Bodies worldwide that have taken the time to answer our surveys, thereby contributing to the comparative country information in this Handbook, and to all of the research centres who have worked with International IDEA gathering the comparative country information: African Centre for Economic Growth (ACEG) Al Urdun Al Jadid Research Center (UJRC) Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials (ACEEEO) Australian Election Commission (AEC) Centre d’études et de documentation sur la démocratie directe, Universität Zürich Centre for Democratic Governance (CDD) Centre for Electoral Reform (CETRO) Centre pour la Governance Démocratique (CGD) Commission Electorale Independante (CENI) Elections Canada Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) Gorée Institute Initiative and Referendum Institute, University of Southern California Institute for Education in Democracy (IED) Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE) National Jury of Elections (JNE) Resource Building Institute in Democracy Governance and Elections (RBI) Servicio Electoral de Chile (SERVEL) The Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) The Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand Electoral Administrators Network (PIANZEA). V Additional thanks go to Helena Catt, Ramlan Surbakti and David Kupferschmidt for their work in reviewing the Handbook and to IDEA’s Publications Manager, Nadia Handal Zander, for succesfully managing the production of this Handbook. VI Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................................................III Preface ................................................................................................................................................................ IV Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................................. V Acronyms and abbreviations ......................................................................................................................... XIII Introduction: direct democracy in political context .................................................................1 Direct votes are a political tool ........................................................................................................ 2 Direct voting frameworks can change political choices ...........................................................
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