Primary Elections in Palermo: A Case Study

Primary Elections in Palermo:a Case Study

Panel:“Perspectives on eDemocracy”

The 16th Bled Conference

Bled (SI)

10 June 2003

1

Primary Elections in Primary Elections in Palermo:Palermo:a Case Studya Case Study

Jesse MarshAtelier Studio Associato

[email protected]




Bled (SI)

10 June 2003

2

eDemocracy?eDemocracy?• Top-down approaches

Technical applications

Improvements of existing voting proceduresObjectives: increase turnout, save money

Theoretical elaborations

Dynamics of participation, debate, access to informationObjectives: develop new models of IST-based

democracy

• Hands-on, case-study approachLink up with actual political processes

Political commitment and involvement in local debateObjective: provide on-demand technical support

Generalise outcomes

Link up with similar initiatives, share resultsObjective: spread best practice




Bled (SI)

10 June 2003

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Political SituationPolitical Situation

ELECTORAL DEFEATS, SPONTANEOUS CITIZENS’ MOVEMENTS,HISTORICAL ANTI-MAFIA GROUPS, MULTI-PARTY COALITION DYNAMICS




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10 June 2003

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Primary Elections?Primary Elections?• A novelty

Much discussed in Italy, rarely implemented

Result of shift from proportional to majority system

Key question of selection of candidates

• Who?Reference model (USA) holds primaries within one party

What about an 8-10 party coalition?

A “coordination of citizen movements” proposes to organize

• New criteriaLow cost, speed of implementation, flexibility of rules

Political “believability” more than technical reliability




Bled (SI)

10 June 2003

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Province of PalermoProvince of Palermo

ELECTIONS FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE PROVINCE, 25-26 MAY 2003POPULATION: 1.233.768 (PALERMO, 679.290); ELIGIBLE VOTERS: 1.075.462DENSITY: 247,14 Pop/Km2 (PALERMO, 4.275,49)82 MUNICIPALITIES (POPULATION CONCENTRATED ALONG THE COAST)




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10 June 2003

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An Opportunity?An Opportunity?• Promote the unity of the centre-left coalition

Work together towards a common objective

Increase citizen participation, overcome political divisions

• Contribute to the debate on primary electionsBeyond theoretical essays: “Just do it”

Gain attention of national and European observers

• Experiment with old and new toolsSimplify communication: redundancy of mail-lists, web sites

Prototype “cheap and quick” voting systems

Explore acceptability for people and politicians




Bled (SI)

10 June 2003

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Approach AdoptedApproach Adopted• Set up a network of “Democracy Points”

Existing structures: party or union seat, voluntary association, professional office, etc.

Future nodes in a stable network for democratic participation

• Web serviceSupporting democracy point activities

Allowing for distributed voting throughout the territory

• Special challengesUnique voter registration, anonymity of vote

Security of Internet environment, trust in administrators

Defense against attempts at political manipulation




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10 June 2003

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Operational ProposalOperational Proposal• The Democracy Point

Self-registration (open to all) via Web

Cross-control among randomly selected proponents; approval and authorisation with 5 out of 7 approvals

Three options for voting procedures: on-line, batch entry, squad support

• The CandidateSelf-registration (open to all) with any Democracy Point

500 voter approvals to become official candidate

• The VoterRegistration with any Democracy Point

Subsequent access to documents, profiles, voting etc.




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10 June 2003

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DebateDebate

REACHING AGREEMENT BETWEEN MOVEMENTS AND PARTIES




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NegotiationNegotiation• Estimated turonout: 20,000 voters

200 Democracy Points x 100 registrees each

Numerical strength and open system: shock to parties

• Parties’ counter-proposal for a “convention”450 Elected representatives of the coalition

450 Selected by parties with representational division

450 Members of “civil society” (e.g. unions, associations, movements)

• Compromise solutionDemocracy Points register voters (paying € 3 each) for a set period (one week)

Parties provide lists of an equal total, plus the elected

Debate on platform and voting occurs in a 2-day convention




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10 June 2003

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Active Democracy PointsActive Democracy Points

THE RANGE OF STRUCTURES AND PLACES ALREADY REGISTERED




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10 June 2003

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What HappenedWhat Happened• Democracy Points register over 1.700 delegates

in one weekParties scramble to match number, providing (and changing) lists until the last moment

• Coalition parties agree on a single “unitary” candidate the night before the Convention

Movements forced to propose leading figure as alternative

Less than half of registrees actually vote

Woman candidate gains 300 signatures, to then withdraw

• Party choice wins by only 5% marginParty candidate called into question on political background

Movements decide to procede anyway

Movements’ candidate becomes Vice-Presidential nominee




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10 June 2003

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AftermathAftermath• Elections lost

Centre-left candidate takes 36,5% vs. 60,3% of centre-right

Improvement over previous elections, gains better in Palermo city centre than in outlying province

Centre-left parties sing victory, hail method of primaries

• “Coordination of Movements” integratedKey players now engaged in parties’ political processes

“Convention” accepted as end solution, not just first step

• “Potential energy of Movements” remains Regrouping of original participants

Commitment to carry forward distributed and open eDemocracy solution for primaries




Bled (SI)

10 June 2003

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ConclusionsConclusions• Specific nature of primary elections with a

multi-party coalition

• Work with political processes provides structurally new alternatives

• Specific technical challenges addressable within time and money constraints

• Significant political implications: new role of citizen in eDemocracy processes

• Resistance to change by parties hampers political innovation




Bled (SI)

10 June 2003

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Open QuestionsOpen Questions• The nature of political credibility

Mixture between human trust and technical reliability

“Believability” of systems that people can not understand

• Citizens, ICT and democracyAre people actually willing to invest in learning to use tools?

How to address the local “digital divide”; is it technical or cultural?

How many people actually vote freely anyway?

• Political movements and political partiesCan citizens’ movements do without political organisation?

How can we make / help political parties really address and overcome their crisis of representation?

News & Politics

Primary Elections in Palermo: A Case Study