Self-governing elections and electronic voting in one round is proposed by the government, as announced by the Minister of the Interior Th. Livanios, from the KEDE conference
Sweeping changes in the Self-Government were announced today by the Minister of the Interior Theodoris Livanios, from the KEDE conference held in Rhodes.
According to the minister, the second round of self-governing elections will be abolished, a quota will be added to the ballots for young people up to 30 years of age, while electronic voting will also be allowed.
It is also foreseen to call early elections, within the first 3 of the 5-year term in case there is an increased majority and for cases where the combination of the municipal authority has been weakened, for example such as resignations or independence of councilors.
An important regulation that is foreseen is that the secondment of elected civil servants due to their election is abolished.
The announcements of the Minister of the Interior
The changes proposed by the Ministry of the Interior concern both the election system of municipal and regional authorities, as well as issues of governance, supervision, financial management, the statutory status of elected officials and the powers of local self-government.
In his statement, the Minister, Thodoris Livanios, states: “Today we presented specific proposals for the reform of Local Government, which give the impression of the dynamics that the government seeks for the municipalities and regions of the country. What is certain is that the changes we are ready to introduce are not going to be a reform that will remain on paper, but a real tool for the self-governing authorities to stand more firmly on their feet, to cure dysfunctions and problems and to mature, for the benefit of all citizens.”
The most important changes, which are set as a basis for dialogue for the drafting of the new Uniform Local Government Code, are the following:
A. Changes to the electoral process for self-governing authorities
1. Election of municipal and regional authorities in a single round
The country’s municipal and regional authorities will be elected in a single round. The voter will have the option of choosing a second combination, on the same ballot. In the event that no combination collects 50% + 1 vote of the valid votes of the first choice, the first two combinations in votes advance to the second counting phase. The second votes (second choice) of the ballots of the combinations left out of the second phase are added to the votes of the first two combinations.
The successful combination will be declared whoever has collected a) during the first phase, 50% + 1 vote of the valid ones of the first choice or b) during the second phase, the most votes between the first two combinations, which include the second votes of of ballots of the combinations excluded from the second phase.
The proposed change of the electoral system, on the one hand, solves the problem of reduced voter participation in the second round of self-governing elections and, on the other hand, eliminates the significant cost of conducting the second round.
2. Optional electronic voting in Municipal and Regional elections
Giving yet another tool to make it easier for voters to exercise their right to vote, following the successful introduction of postal voting in the 2024 European elections, the Home Office has announced the introduction of electronic voting for local government elections for any elector who wishes to do so, while maintaining the classic vote by physical presence.
3. Announcing early elections, within the first 3 years of the five-year term, for the remainder of the term
This possibility can be used if 4/5 of the total number of members of the municipal or regional council and the mayor or regional governor agree. This change puts an end to the phenomena of administrative paralysis that are created in cases
independence of municipal councilors.
4. Designation of additional candidate advisers without preference cross.
Each combination will be able to nominate additional candidates up to:- 1 candidate in councils with up to 19 members
– 2 candidates in councils with 25 to 39 members
– 3 candidates in councils with 43 members
These candidates are elected only if their combination is declared the winner of the election. The aim of the change is to attract competent scientists and candidates of recognized prestige, who can contribute to local communities.
5. Creation of a quota for the participation of candidates up to the age of 30 in the self-governing combinations.
The aim is to strengthen the participation of young people in the administration of local affairs.
6. Abolition of the possibility of secondment of elected civil servants due to election.
The election is an attitude of offering to the public and should not be instrumentalized as a vehicle for detachments, unduly weakening the
public service staffing.
7. Reduction of the number of candidate advisers up to 50% in addition to the positions, instead of the current 150%
By reducing that percentage, a combined municipal election in a 31-member council, instead of up to 78 candidates, it could have in 2023, will have 47.
8. Election of municipal councilors uniformly throughout the municipality and not per municipal unit.
15 years after the implementation of Kallikratis and the mergers of the Kapodistrian municipalities, there is no longer any reason to maintain the distinct electoral district.
9. Single parabola of combination.
The amount of the tax will be proportional to the population of the municipality or region.
10. Conduct of elections on the last Sunday of November.
This change will reduce the period of time since the elections are held
until the new authorities take office, reducing, respectively, the potential power vacuum.
B. Changes in the system of governance, the statutory position of elected officials, the supervision, the responsibilities and the financial management of the OTAs
- Mandatory public consultation for all regulatory acts before they are introduced to the municipal / regional council.
- Exclusive electronic local referenda on matters of municipal competence.
- Establishment of the position of official secretary in municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants.
- Increase in the remuneration of mayors and vice-mayors, suspension of the mayor’s professional activity in municipalities of more than 20,000 inhabitants and mandatory leave for the entire term.
- Abolition of territorial competence of Legality Checkers. Each transaction entered for legality checking will be randomly allocated to a Legality Checker of another territorial jurisdiction. Coordination of the 7 Legality Checkers by the OTA General Legality Supervisor.
- Speeding up the issuance of legality review decisions within 10 days.
- Retention of the Municipal Fee to cover remunerative services and establishment of a Local Development Fee, incorporating into it the Municipal Tax and the Real Estate Fee. The TTA will be freely determined by the municipalities and will be used to cover all types of expenses and investment activities.
- Reinstatement of the preventive audit of the Court of Auditors for warrants over 15,000 euros.
- Establishment of a Municipal Revenue Management Center under the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece, in which all types of certified debts to municipalities will be posted. This Center will be the interface of the Self-Government with AADE, EFKA and all the necessary Registries of the Greek State, while it will provide the possibility of electronic payments of the debts, which will be directly attributed to the Municipalities, without abolishing the possibility of payments directly to the Municipalities.
- Redistribution of responsibilities between Municipalities, Regions, Decentralized Administrations and the Central State with 3 criteria:
– Local, regional or national nature of the jurisdiction
– Who can exercise it more effectively for the benefit of
citizens
– Presumption of competence by policy bundle.
It is recalled that the dialogue on updating the institutional framework of self-government, with the drafting of the new unified Local Government Code, has already begun. The competent Committee that will process all the proposals of all the bodies, which was established by the Minister of the Interior, met for the first time on Monday, November 4, with the participation of representatives of the local government, the judicial authorities, universities and executives of both Local Government Organizations as well as the Ministry of the Interior. In fact, to assist its work, and with the aim of completing the drafting of the new code as quickly as possible, the Local Government Code Drafting and Implementation Unit was established and operates at the Ministry of the Interior.
Source: Skai
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