Presentation within the Roundtable “Possibility of Introducing a Proportional Electoral System with Direct Candidate Voting in Serbia: Advantages and Disadvantages”
For political actors of a green-left orientation, the electoral system is not an issue of primary importance; rather, the main emphasis is placed on citizen participation. To speak of participation means simultaneously criticizing the view that citizen involvement in politics is restricted solely to voting in elections. Participatory democracy, as the preferred model, theoretically requires a major reform of political institutions, while practically acknowledging that representative institutions and elections exist, but arguing that the political system should be reformed and supplemented with specific participatory mechanisms.
Regarding electoral system reform, the movement “Ne davimo Beograd” would support the introduction of a proportional electoral system with direct voting for candidates. We recognize this as the solution closest to our core values. Among the principles this system seeks to achieve that align closely with our movement, decentralization stands out prominently.
The proposed electoral system allows both regional and local political options to establish a presence in parliament without requiring a nationwide organizational structure. In other words, emerging grassroots movements are not prevented from entering the institutional arena. In this regard, it is important to recall that all the more successful examples of green-left political actors—and particularly municipalist movements that “Ne davimo Beograd” has looked up to—operate within electoral systems far more favorable to such action than the one currently in place in Serbia.
Several important issues emerge through the discussion on electoral reform. The first is the representative role of members of parliament. The institutional incentives of the current electoral system do not motivate MPs to communicate with voters. Each of us represents all citizens, which implies that every MP should communicate with the entire electorate. Such a volume of encounters, demands, and information would certainly be overwhelming. However, an MP can exercise selection and limit themselves to what is realistic—matters within their professional expertise or geographic proximity. The current system does not encourage communication with citizens, but it does not prevent it either.
Hand in hand with this goes the question of representative autonomy. Under current circumstances, autonomy is constrained by party discipline and dominance—a problem that was even more pronounced when “blanket” resignations existed. This reflects a deficit of intra-party democracy. Conversely, in a different system, a candidate elected by name in their specific electoral district might at some point stray from the core values around which party members originally coalesced. We should not shy away from the necessity of having a party or movement as an organization with an ideological core that guides individual action. A party possesses its own policy platform and program, which provides a framework within which candidates can find appropriate language for their local communities. Therefore, reducing everything strictly to personalization and specific individual candidates can be highly problematic, as it risks creating “local sheriffs.” The electorate’s desire to personalize representation must periodically be bounded by values originating from the center.
Naturally, the key question is how this central position is formulated, which brings us back into the domain of intra-party democracy. The proposed electoral reform helps, but it certainly does not fully solve the problem of the lack of internal democracy within political organizations in Serbia. If parties are structured from the outset on a pattern of dominance and hierarchy, changing the electoral system will shake that model, but it will not eliminate it.
Quotas that ensure an adequate percentage of female representation are common to both the existing electoral system and the one proposed within the reform framework, as both are proportional. However, the question remains as to which women will occupy those positions and how they will utilize those roles to advance their personal profiles versus promoting women’s interests. The system offers no answers to these further questions.
Even when citing the positive effects on decentralization, a tension remains between aspirations toward decentralization and the presence of parochialism or a lack of progressive values in certain communities.
For green-left actors, everything begins within political organizations themselves. This is why green parties and movements place strong emphasis on internal mechanisms. The European Green Party utilizes internal primaries as a form of intra-party democracy. Additionally, various types of civic initiatives and democratic innovations are encouraged. Such mechanisms generate a new political culture; when effectively applied, the specific type of external electoral system becomes less critical.
From its inception, the movement “Ne davimo Beograd” has enshrined designated positions for women in its statutes, thereby encouraging the development of female candidates and leaders. Because we implement this “feminization of politics” at the movement level, fulfilling women’s representation quotas when compiling candidate lists presents no difficulty for us, unlike other electoral participants. We were the first to promote equal representation of men and women on electoral lists, setting a standard higher than legally mandated. Although we implemented this in practice for the 2022 elections at the Belgrade city level, it could not be fully realized at the national level due to the coalition framework in which we participated.
Finally, when discussing electoral system reform, it is difficult to imagine our society approaching this topic in a thorough manner or in the way green-left actors would require. This implies that major political questions should be deliberated through broad public discussions and participatory mechanisms specifically designed to hear citizen perspectives. Solutions should not be imposed solely as ideas from theorists and experts, although they can and should contribute their insights. Furthermore, under current conditions in Serbia, there is a justified fear that any electoral system reform process could be subject to abuse.