Citizens’ assemblies could strengthen public participation: Alberts

The role of citizens in a democracy should extend beyond voting every five years, with mechanisms such as citizens’ assemblies offering an opportunity for more meaningful public participation, a researcher says.

Kira Alberts, Research Coordinator at the Centre for Research on Democracy, says a pilot citizens’ assembly in Cape Town is exploring how ordinary South Africans can play a more direct role in shaping decisions affecting their communities, amid calls for greater public participation beyond elections.

“Essentially, it (citizens’ assembly) brings together a representative sample of that area of the localisation you’re working in. So, we brought together 100 randomly selected, but demographically representative sample of Cape Town. And over the course of six sessions, we brought them together to deliberate on a topic. In our case, the topic is climate and transport, a very important one, especially in Cape Town. And then they are educated on the topic. They hear from each other’s experiences. And then they are led through a deliberation process where, at the end of the process, they deliver a set of recommendations to the city to say, this is what we want to see happen. This is our opinion based on the information that we received,” explains Alberts.

“So it’s really a longer process of really mulling over, making sure everyone is included. And I think it’s such a great system for us to bring people together. I mean, in our case, we stratified. So, meaning we selected (participants) based on gender, race, geographic location, and a few others as well. So, it really makes sure that no voices are left behind and everyone is represented in that conversation,” she adds.

Meanwhile, as the countdown to the close of voting stations at 9 pm approaches, the IEC has urged eligible voters to use the time left to go and cast their votes.

Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo, speaking from the Results Operation Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg, said, “The Electoral Commission urges eligible voters who have not yet voted to visit the voting stations where they are registered before voting closes. The Commission reassures voters that anyone who arrives at a voting station before 21h00 will be allowed to vote, even if the voting process extends beyond the official closing time. This means that voters who are in the queue by 21h00 will not be turned away. We, however, encourage voters not to leave it until the last minute, but to use the remaining time to visit voting stations,” says Mamabolo.

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