Momentum announces proposals to enhance public participation in democracy
The party suggested ongoing focus groups, referendum law reform and mandatory consultation on major projects
Momentum has set out three proposals it says would enhance public participation in democracy between elections.
In a statement, the party said citizens were asked to vote between “two near-identical parties” every five years, then expected to “step back while major decisions are taken behind closed doors ... democracy ends the moment the ballot box closes”.
It proposed the introduction of ongoing public focus groups the party refers to as ‘vision circles’ as a standing policymaking feature, remarking that policy was “too often written in the offices of ministers and developers, with citizens consulted only when it is too late to change anything”.
Referendums to introduce new laws should be introduced to complement existing referendums to repeal legislation, the party said, describing the current situation as “half a democracy” that “treats citizens as a brake to be applied only when politicians have gone too far”.
Momentum said that if elected, it would push to change the referendum law to allow citizens to propose new laws directly, stressing that “People should be able to shape legislation, not simply tear it down” or be left to “react to what the political class hands them”.
The party also proposed mandatory public consultations on all public projects costing more than €1 million, saying that taxpayers repeatedly only learned about major projects once contracts had been signed, leading consultation to become a formality.
“From Vitals to the Marsascala marina, the pattern is the same: decide first, ask the public later”, the statement read. “Big projects use taxpayers’ money. Taxpayers must be in the room before the decision is taken, not after”.
Momentum candidate Matthew Agius, who is seeking election in districts 2 and 8, said the proposals “give citizens a real voice in the rooms where decisions are taken, the power to propose new laws and not just react to bad ones, and a guaranteed say before public money is committed to major projects.
“What we are proposing is a Bidla ta’ Vera [“true change”].”