~~~ Η «ελληνική πραγματικότητα» υπάρχει μόνο στο μυαλό εκείνων που δεν μπόρεσαν (ή δεν ήθελαν;) ποτέ να ξεφύγουν από αυτήν ~~~
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Choosing a Candidate by Deliberative
Polling
On Sunday June 4, a historic political event was succesfully completed.
For the first time in political history, a political party chose its candidate for an election by deliberative polling. Panos Alexandris was nominated as the candidate of PASOK for the mayorship of Marousi as a result of a process that resembles a practice of the ancient Athens democracy. (There, at the time, there were citizens' juries and legislative commissions of several hundreds, as well as the Council of 500 that set the agenda for the Assembly, the public forum - all chosen by lot. Lottery provided for an equal chance to participate, while deliberation ensured an informed outcome).
On Sunday, PASOK, the socialist party of Greece, revived this ancient practice after 2,400 years and applied it to the selection of candidates in the municipal elections.
In the Athenian district of Marousi, site of the Athens Olympics, a randomly selected group of 160 citizens gathered to choose from among six candidates. All members of the group were sent briefing materials on 19 issues ranging from traffic and waste disposal to private universities and social services. After 10 hours of deliberation and direct questioning of the candidates, the participants voted by secret ballot; in the second round, Panos Alexandris won a clear majority and was therefore nominated as the Pasok candidate for mayor of Marousi.
For more information about the
project, see
http://www.aueb.gr/statistical-institute/deliberative-polling/index_en.htm
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