Civil society organizations have a key role in social transformation that will lead to a sustainable relationship and dialogue between local governments and their citizens. This is the most significant conclusion of the analysis conducted as an activity of the project “Promoting citizen participation in local self-government”, which includes 13 municipalities in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, and which advocates active participation of local community councils and local civil society organizations level.
The analysis points to the fact that international practice in the field of direct citizen participation in local government affairs recognizes a fairly wide range of different participation mechanisms through which citizens are enabled to be informed, consulted, involved and directly competent to decide on local affairs. On the other hand, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the local self-government units covered by the project, there are only a small number of these mechanisms (citizens ‘assembly, referendum, citizens’ initiative) that are applied in extremely limited capacity defined at the highest principle level without precisely defined procedures and procedures for their application. Due to this, but also a number of other, mostly unfavorable, socio-political and economic-social circumstances (such as the absence of a developed political culture of participation, poverty, etc.), both local governments and citizens have a rather restrained attitude towards available formal and informal forms, direct participation of citizens in decision-making processes, as well as the evident lack of interest in more active advocacy for the affirmation of this form of local governance.
In the given circumstances, civil society organizations (CSOs) play a crucial role, standing out as the only local actors that, in some cases, have the necessary resources and skills to take the lead in the long-term process of strengthening citizens’ direct participation. In a situation where local and local governments fail to ensure consistent application of mechanisms of direct citizen participation, CSOs stand out as actors who can take responsibility for a wide range of activities that can contribute to efficient and effective satisfaction of citizens’ rights to information, consultation and direct decision-making.
CSOs will receive the support of citizens in this historical effort to establish the practice of direct democracy, understood as complementary to the institutions of representative democracy, only if they are successful in recognizing the needs and interests of citizens, articulating them and uncompromising public advocacy in the form of policy proposals and networks of interested citizens.
The research is available here.
