Strengthening democracy in Montenegro through Citizens’ Assemblies
Supporting democracy worldwide is a paramount objective for the European Parliament. The Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG) undertakes the responsibility within the European Parliament for driving democracy support initiatives.
Article written by the Parliamentary Support and Capacity Building Unit at the Directorate for Democracy Support of the European Parliament.
In pursuit of its mission to bolster global democracy, the European Parliament organises election observation missions across the globe, lends its support to human rights activists and endeavours, facilitates mediation between ruling parties and opposition in complex political environments. Furthermore, the European Parliament remains dedicated to strengthening the capacities of partner parliaments, actively seeking innovative approaches to achieve this goal.
Supporting democracy in Montenegro through a Citizen Assembly.
The case of Montenegro stands as prime example of the work the European Parliament is doing to develop democratic innovations. In 2021, it supported the Parliament of Montenegro in establishing the country’s first Citizens’ Assembly[1].
The organisation of the Citizens’ Assembly adhered to three primary principles:
1) Local Involvement: The European Parliament engaged with the Citizens’ Assembly after receiving a clear expression of interest from the Parliament of Montenegro. The European Parliament’s support was contingent upon the full engagement of its Montenegrin counterpart. Additionally, local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), namely the Centre for Democratic Transitions (CDT) and the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM), were chosen as local partners for this initiative.
2) Rigorous Oversight: A scientific committee was formed to oversee the methodological aspects of the Citizens’ Assembly. Comprising renowned international experts and academics, including Min Reuchamps from the University of Louvain, this committee was tasked with developing a robust methodology.
3) Political Consensus: The Citizens’ Assembly unfolded as a political process led by the European Parliament, especially its members responsible for supporting democracy in the Western Balkans such as Vladimir Bilčík, and the Parliament of Montenegro, with its speaker. Support for this initiative was non-partisan within both institutions.
Combating corruption through sortition and informed deliberation.
The Montenegro Citizen’s Assembly was tasked with addressing the topic of corruption. However, it was decided to direct the Assembly’s attention specifically to corruption within the health and public administration sectors, rather than viewing corruption as a general concept. This focused approach aimed to prevent the issue from being exploited for political purposes. By addressing concrete issues, the Citizens’ Assembly was able to focus on practical and tangible recommendations on how to fight corruption with achievable actions.
The Assembly was formed by 53 randomly selected citizens, stratified to be broadly representative of the population. The stratification was based on gender, age, education, ethnicity, and geographical area. The Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) oversaw the recruitment process and conducted face-to-face interviews with the randomly contacted citizens to ensure their eligibility. 6987 people were randomly contacted, out of which 137 people were selected following the stratification criteria and among those, 53 people agreed to participate. The Citizens’ Assembly convened in Podgorica from October 29 to 31, 2021.
After two days of deliberation, the Assembly approved a set of recommendations forwarded to the Parliament of Montenegro. Some highlights include a recommendation to increase transparency for all institutions and improve control over the implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information, and reform public sector wages to achieve a fair equalization of job grade rates. A special session of the Parliament was held on November 4, 2021, in Podgorica to deliberate on the Assembly’s endorsed recommendations.
Following up on Montenegro’s first Citizen Assembly.
The first Citizens’ Assembly faced challenges in executing its recommendations. Political instability and vague recommendations hindered the full implementation of anti-corruption measures proposed by the Assembly in 2021. As a response, in September 2022, a follow up meeting was organised with 37 members of the first Assembly. In this second round, citizens were asked to produce practical steps to support the implementation of the recommendations of the first iteration.
Organisers introduced an innovative element to the format of the second iteration. Elected representatives from different political groups within the Parliament of Montenegro engaged in discussions with citizens. These dialogues helped fine-tune the recommendations in September 2022, the Citizen’s Assembly produce a second set of recommendations aiming at being more concrete and actionable.
On November 4, 2022, a special meeting of the Parliament of Montenegro, attended by a delegation of European Parliament Members, deliberated on the newly ratified recommendations. As of November 2023, certain recommendations mainly those regarding the improvement of the status of employees in health and public sectors were partially adopted, however the majority of the recommendations remain yet to be implemented.
Learnings from Montenegro: building local capacities to promote deliberative democracy.
Through co-organizing the Citizens’ Assembly with the Parliament of Montenegro, the European Parliament experimented with the use of deliberative democracy as a tool for supporting democracy. This approach effectively established new channels of communication between citizens and parliamentary bodies, exhibiting the potential to reduce polarisation by fostering informed discussions that yield consensus, even on complex issues like combatting corruption.
Another objective of the Citizens’ Assembly was to enhance local capacities in Montenegro, with a vision of holding similar events in the future[2]. The project was implemented with non-profit Montenegrin Civil Society Organizations as local partners. This long-term collaboration, which also involved leading international experts, facilitated the dissemination of best practices in designing and implementing deliberative processes among local actors. As a result of this capacity-building effort, the European Parliament is prepared to hand over responsibility to the Parliament of Montenegro and local partners for future deliberative processes.
A final objective was to build trust in democratic institutions by building new bridges between citizens and their elected representatives.
“It is our obligation as elected representatives of the citizens, to strengthen their trust in the Parliament. I am sure that the Citizens ‘Assembly will contribute to that goal as well.”
Aleksa Bečić — President of the Parliament of Montenegro
The organisation of Citizens’ Assemblies in Montenegro holds promise for future undertakings not only within the country but also across the wider Western Balkans region.
[1] The Citizens’ Assembly is a group composed of randomly selected citizens representing the diversity of Montenegrin society. Its purpose is to create recommendations for the Parliament of Montenegro on specific subjects.
[2] A similar approach is being implemented as part of the upcoming Citizens’ Assembly in Kosovo (2024).
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This article reflects the views and opinions of the author and does not represent those of the OECD or its member countries.
