Title of the Project:  To increase the quality of citizen representation in elected bodies of local government through drafting, lobbying and advocacy for changes in electoral legislation

Project goal:

• Improve legislation to support the more effective functioning of representative democracy in local government.
• Increase the opportunities for citizens to elect their own representatives in local government.
• Increase the quality and effectiveness of the work of local government bodies in response to the needs and interests of different groups and civic communities.

Objectives:

• Identification of issues and problems in current legislation that generate negative effects on the quality of citizen representation in elected local government bodies;
• Assessment of citizens' perceptions and expectations about the level of their representation in elected local government bodies;
• Promoting and carrying out the process of consultation and discussion with citizens, youth, women and girls, marginalized communities and national minorities, local elected and heads of administrative units and academic staff on the interventions and changes that need to be made in the system and legislation on the election of local government bodies;
• Implementation of the citizens' legislative initiative for changes in the legislation that regulates the issues of elections of local government bodies;
• Advocacy at the institutional level for the implementation of the citizens' legislative initiative for changes in the legislation on local government elections.

Activities:

First phase - Analysis and conception of interventions with the object of electoral legislation for the election of local government bodies:

• Analysis of current legislation to identify problems that generate undesirable effects on the quality of citizen representation in local government elected bodies.
• Survey of representatives of different groups of citizens in urban, peri-urban and rural areas, young people, women and girls, communities of marginalized voters, representatives of national minorities, local elections, employees in local administration in administrative units.
• Analysis and identification of perceptions and expectations for the level of representation in local government bodies and the conception of possible ways and interventions.
• Organization and development of the process of consultation and discussion with various groups of citizens, elected and officials in local government bodies, academic staff and specialists in the field, for the problems that accompany the realization of the fullest possible representation of citizens in elected local bodies and for solutions aimed at increasing the quality of representation.
• Conception of interventions that can be made in the electoral legislation, in the electoral system and Code, for the election of local government bodies.
• Organizing and conducting discussions with experts and academic staff on interventions and changes that may be proposed to be made in the electoral legislation for the election of local government bodies.

Second phase - Citizen consent, lobbying and institutional advocacy:

• Drafting of the draft law "On changes in the Electoral Code".
• Undertaking legislative initiatives for the draft law "On changes in the Electoral Code".
• Organization and development of information, incentive and awareness campaign for citizen participation in the legislative initiative.
• Organization and implementation of the citizens' legislative initiative with the object of the draft law "On changes in the Electoral Code", which aims to increase the quality of citizen representation in elected bodies for local government.
• Lobbying and institutional advocacy for the approval of the draft law "On changes in the Electoral Code".