Many people argue that most countries in Europe are currently experiencing a form of political disaffection, where citizens feel an increase of distrust and disengagement from politicians, political institutions and the political system as a whole. This leaves political parties (private associative entities with public functions) the most crucial influence over the political landscape and decision-making in our democracies. That sounds familiar to you, right?
In response to that, there are growing endeavours to advocate for transitioning to a more direct and participatory democracy. This transition would involve opening a constituent process in each country of the European Union, with the aim of replacing the proportional election system based on block lists set by the leader of each political party and only one granted vote per citizen, to introduce a broader range of preferences, casting multiple votes and consolidating direct designation (1 vote – 1 point for a concrete candidate) in each electoral district.
A great example of these innovative, direct and more engaging voting systems is the D21 – Janeček method, also known as Democracy 2.1 (D21). This initiative is designed by a Czech mathematician, Karel Janeček. The core aspect of this innovative electoral system is to allow voters to cheer for 2 or 3 candidates, consenting multiple positive votes (non-accumulative in a single candidate) per citizen, as well as providing citizens with the option of casting one negative vote to express their opposition to a candidate who they really dislike.
Therefore, opposed to current proportional electoral systems in the majority of EU Member States, where political parties are those who actually win the elections and get a concrete number of seats (which will be later allocated to the candidates on the top of the lists created by their own parties), depending on their proportional vote share. Within the D21 electoral system, the winners are indeed individual candidates who are not only truly and directly appointed by the citizens but are also those who count with broader support within their electoral district as a whole. This, indeed leads to more moderated acceptable outcomes.
The D21 electoral system can be transferred to all paths of life, using multiple positive votes and a negative one to cheer for a broader range of options and to outline that concrete one they strongly oppose. D21 – Janeček method allows you to express your opinion with higher precision. Indeed, such polls are being used for instance in participatory budgeting.
Consequently, such a voting shift is believed to have several potential benefits in terms of political and civic engagement for both the population and politicians, as well as the harmonization of more democratic election systems around the Member States of the European Union.
The move from a partitocracy to a more direct and accountable democratic system in Europe is a complex and multifaceted endeavour. It involves reimagining the political landscape to ensure that power truly resides with the people and that their voices and concerns are at the forefront of the decision-making process.
Additionally, well-informed and engaged citizens are crucial for the success of a more direct and participatory democracy, as it requires active involvement in the political process. And that’s exactly what we want to achieve with this article: promote a feasible, alternative and real democracy, clear out terms and differences, and highlight the ultimate goals of democracy and the rule of law, thus accelerating the progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other relevant international commitments.