Greater citizen participation, dialogue and accountability are the answer to society’s growing sense that the voice of citizens is not being heard, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides stressed on Tuesday addressing the 7th annual Cyprus Forum that takes place in Nicosia.
In his speech, he referred to specific policies that the government has implemented that encourage citizen participation in actions and participatory democracy in practice. In the coming days, he pointed out, there will be a special meeting of the Council of Ministers where young people will take on the role of Ministers and submit proposals that will be studied by the government.
President Christodoulides referred to the “Citizens’ Legislative Initiative”, based on which, with 5,000 signatures, citizens acquire the right to shape policies, to the reduction to 21 years of the age limit for the right to be elected, and that all citizens who complete 17 years of age are automatically registered on the electoral rolls and have the right to vote.
Furthermore, he said that the government has created several other digital tools that strengthen the voice of citizens in the decision-making process, by utilizing technology. He referred to the e-consultation for public consultations, the “Voice of the Citizen” for advisory votes, the “Ekfracy” platform, which provides young people with a platform to submit proposals and suggestions, and the online platform diakivernisi.gov.cy, through which citizens can at any time see the progress of the implementation of government actions and policies.
In addition, the President said, there was a decision in the first year of his administration, at the beginning of each year “to say what we will implement in the coming year so that each citizen knows what we have said and at the end of the year and at any time during the year can check whether we have implemented everything we have promised”.
In the coming days, he announced, there will be a special meeting of the Council of Ministers where young people will take on the role of Ministers.
“In addition to the many actions that I have mentioned and the direct contact of the members of the Council of Ministers with organized groups, society in general, in the coming days we will also have a special meeting of the Council of Ministers in which young people, in my presence, will take on the role of Ministers and will submit their suggestions and proposals”.
He said that this has high symbolism but also substance, explaining that it offers the opportunity to representatives of the New Generation to submit specific proposals that will not only be heard, but will be studied and promoted accordingly.
President Christodoulides stressed that despite the risks and challenges, the digital age offers us new tools and opportunities for more direct and meaningful citizen participation, so that we can address the distance between Democracy and citizens.
“I truly believe that greater citizen participation, dialogue and accountability are the answer to society’s growing, and often justified, sense that the voice of citizens is not heard and that decisions are made behind closed doors, away from them,” he pointed out.
This, he said, is the main message that society is sending, not only in Cyprus, but also at a European and international level, and this is expressed by society through the tools offered by the digital age.
Concluding, the President said that the government does not consider that institutions are at a level that does not require continuous improvement.