CITIZEN ASSEMBLIES have been effectively used on specific issues in a number of countries.
In British Columbia and Ontario in Canada, and in the Netherlands assemblies were used to debate the electoral system, resulting in referendums in the two Canadian regions.
Political scientist Prof Kenneth Carty of the University of British Columbia who addressed the Dublin assembly, worked on all three of the events.
He said they were “specific assemblies” about how politicians should be elected to parliament.
“You cant trust politicians with the electoral system because they have a conflict of interest”, he said and a citizens assembly was established to debate the issue.
The “surprise” result in British Columbia where the first past the post system operated, was the option for the single transferable PR voting system.
In a referendum 57 per cent voted in favour but 60 per cent was required.
In Ontario 37 per cent voted for change to a mixed proportional representative system with a vote for an individual politician and for a list system.
The Netherlands is a single constituency where the electorate votes for a party in a list system. After the citizen assembly debate there a referendum was proposed but it never went ahead.
Prof Carty, author of a book on the Irish electoral system Party and Parish Pump, said “citizens’ assemblies are being introduced around the world”.
He said the Irish assembly was “unique” because the citizens were a representative sample of the Irish electorate and they were deciding the issues.
