GOLD Report I - UCLG

83turnout is extremely high under the onepartycommunist government in Vietnam(98.7% in 2004) and China (80% in villageelections in rural areas). Voting is compulsoryin four states of Australia but in therest of the country turnout in local governmentelections is generally low at around30-40%, even where postal voting hasbeen introduced. Elsewhere in the regionthe turnout ranges from a high of around80% in the Philippines to 56% (2003),52% (2004) and 47% (2005) in Japan,New Zealand and Pakistan respectively,and a low of 35% in Thailand’s BangkokMetropolitan Administration.However, citizen participation in local governanceis not merely confined to votingin local government elections. The presenceof decentralized structures and processeshas been considered one manifestationof a wider movement in the region towardsdemocratization because it provides theenabling context for broader citizen participationand active civil society engagementin the democratic discourse. Ensuring theparticipation of civil society groups (NGOsand non-profit organizations), and businessand the private sector in the localgovernance process is a continuing concernin the region. Such participation is asine-qua-non for successful decentralization.How to overcome the so-called ‘psychologicaldivide’ between government andcivil society is a challenge that is beingaddressed in various ways by the selectedcountries of the region.Japanese citizens have extensive powers todemand a local referendum – for example,on important issues such as US militaryrelocation, nuclear sites and construction ofindustrial waste disposal facilities. They candemand formulation, improvement or eliminationof ordinances, audits and even dissolutionof the local assembly, as well as thedismissal of the mayor, council members orofficials. In Korea, citizen participation hasbeen greatly strengthened by three legislativereforms in the very recent past: the2005 Local Referendum Act, confirming thepower of councils to hold referendums; the2006 Act on the Local Ombudsman Regimeand Local Petition against the abuse of localfinance, and the 2007 Local Recall system,by which elected mayors and councilorsmay be removed from office by a local vote.In New Zealand around half of all municipalitieshave introduced some form of communityboard structure as a strategy for linkingcommunities with the local council. Althoughthese structures are authorized inthe 2002 Local Government Act, the boardslack formal government authority or independentfinancial resources.In the Philippines there has been a noticeableincrease in citizen participation in local governancein recent years. The 1991 LocalGovernment Code established new mechanismsof consultation and participation. Localreferendums and recall of officials havebeen introduced and there were 29 recordedlocal recall elections between 1993and 1997 (Teehankee 2002). The Coderequires all municipalities to establish a localdevelopment council (LDC), with at leastone-quarter of its members being representativesof non-governmental and civilsociety organizations. The LDC draws up acomprehensive development plan for approvalby the council.Attempts at promoting citizen participationoften challenge powerful vested interestsand are not always successful. The GramSabha (or assembly of all registered votersin a panchayat) is a key feature of rurallocal government in India, and it is mandatoryfor rural local bodies to hold GramSabha meetings where important decisionshave to be approved. There is also anincreasing emphasis on setting up usergroups to take decisions and to participatein the management of public services. Thisis more controversial as it is often seen asa dilution of the institutional role of electedlocal bodies. Currently, urban local governmentin India does not have a correspondinginstitution to the Gram Sabha and doesnot offer any institutionalized role for citizensbeyond voting at election timeThe presenceof decentralizedstructures andprocesses hasbeen consideredone manifestationof a widermovement in theregion towardsdemocratization