“The Assembly will enable citizens in Mostar to engage in deliberations and dialogue with local authorities, in a new way that complements representative democracy and citizen participation,”, stated Bernd Vöhringer President of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress, at the inaugural session of the Mostar Citizens’ Assembly on 10 July 2021. “Based on the principles of randomness, inclusiveness and informed deliberations, this process will bring the change to the City of Mostar through the co-creation and the alliance built between the authorities and citizens”, he stressed.  

Bojana Urumova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, declared that the City of Mostar can now be considered as a frontliner competing with other cities where the process of deliberative democracy and the promotion of inclusive and transparent policies are already a common practice.

Salem Marić, President of the Mostar City Council welcomed the Congress initiative and announced that the recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly will be discussed by the City Council. With this process, Mostar is catching the wave of deliberative democracy that brings together public authorities from all levels of government who are increasingly turning to citizens to enhance decision-making.

The Citizens’ Assembly is bringing together a representative group of 47 randomly selected citizens who will meet during four consecutive weekends in July 2021. They will continue hearing experts and stakeholders, deliberate upon and make recommendations on the issues of cleanliness and maintenance of public spaces in the City of Mostar.

For more details please visit the web site www.mostargradimo.ba

The Citizens’ Assembly is organised in the framework of the project “Building democratic participation in the City of Mostar” implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018-2021. The aim of the project is to create opportunities for citizens to engage in a deliberative process and increase their contribution to local decision-making. In turn, this process will foster dialogue at local level and contribute to the revitalisation of democratic processes in the City of Mostar.