Greater citizen participation, dialogue, and accountability are the answer to citizens’ growing sense that their voices are not being heard and that decisions are being made without their input, said President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides.

According to a statement from the Presidency, speaking via videoconference at a roundtable discussion organized by The Economist magazine in Athens on the topic “Is democracy in decline, or is it undergoing a crisis of adjustment to the unprecedented changes of the digital age?”, the President of the Republic referred to policies adopted by the government to foster a stronger participatory democracy, such as the establishment of the “Citizens’ Legislative Initiative,” so that by collecting 5,000 signatures, citizens gain the right to shape policies; lowering the age of eligibility to run for office to 21; and that all citizens who turn 17 are automatically registered on the voter rolls and have the right to vote.

President Christodoulides also referred to several other digital tools that amplify citizens’ voices in the decision-making process, through the use of technology, such as e-consultation for public consultations, “The Voice of the Citizen” for advisory votes, the “Ekfrasy” platform, which provides young people with a forum to submit proposals and suggestions, and the online platform diakivernisi.gov.cy, through which citizens can track the progress of government actions and policies at any time.

“I do not believe that the Republic is in decline, but we cannot ignore that it is being put to the test,” noted the President of the Republic at the start of the discussion, in which the President of the Hellenic Republic, Konstantinos Tasoulas, also participated.

He specifically noted that democracy is being challenged by the questioning of institutions, is being tested by new technologies and new forms of communication, which are drastically changing public discourse as well as the very relationship between citizens and politics, and above all, it is being tested by citizens’ growing sense that politics is not adapting quickly enough to their real concerns and to the changes affecting their daily lives.

“And this, I believe, is perhaps the most significant challenge facing our democracies today,” he emphasized.

President Christodoulides referred to the successful conclusion of Cyprus’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which set out to bring the Union closer to its citizens and to understand their everyday concerns, enabling it to adapt to the major changes of our time and provide meaningful solutions to the real problems facing our societies.

“There is a direct link between the quality of democracy and the ability of institutions to adapt, listen, and provide solutions,” he said, noting that the great challenge before us is to ensure that democracy does not merely observe the developments of the digital age, but that it will adapt to and make the most of its potential.

“And the digital age, despite the undeniable risks it poses, also offers us new tools for more direct communication and more meaningful participation. And we must make these tools our allies,” he concluded.

Source: CNA