2. Governance and Public Perceptions
2.5 Citizen Control
2.5.2 Civil Participation in Direct Democracy
for service delivery. The lack of a broader view in the execution of such projects by NGOs provides no room for a true integration of administrative services or the creation of effective mechanisms for coordinating the activities of various administrations. There are still no projects that envisage an actual integration of certain services at the central or municipal level. Thus, the effect of building service centers remains solely to de-liver information to interested citizens and juridical persons, without any implication for actual adminis-trative procedures.
2.5.1.5 Ombudsman
An ombudsman is an institution that defends citizens and legal entities before local government bodies when these bodies do not take necessary actions or when their actions violate the existing law, the principles of the democratic state and the concept of “good govern-ance.” By performing these duties, an ombudsman contributes to the defense of fundamental rights and freedoms (as outlined by international conventions).
The ombudsman institution has not been a typical feature of administrative law in the “continental” legal system, upon which the Bulgarian legal system has been built.
The Ombudsman Act, adopted in May 2003,60 envisages the establishment of the ombudsman insti-tution as “a body that advocates for citizens when state, or municipal bodies in their action or lack of action infringe upon citizens’ their rights and free-doms.” Under the law, the Ombudsman shall be elected by the National Assembly for a mandate of five years. Members of Parliament and Parliamentary groups may propose candidates for the position of Ombudsman. This appears to contradict the basic formulation that “in his/her activities, the Ombuds-man is independent and subject only to the Constitu-tion, the laws, and the ratified treaties to which the Republic of Bulgaria is a party, and s/he shall be gov-erned by his personal consciousness and morals.”61
The Ombudsman may be approached with grie-vances regarding the infringement of rights and free-doms by legal entities. Certain powers are contra-dictory, and procedures for the reception and con-sideration of grievances have not been sufficiently developed. Powers for considering a grievance have not been made clear, nor has the timeline for this function with respect to the timeline for the appeal
of administrative acts under administrative and judi-cial orders. As well, the range of “state and municipal bodies and their administrations” against which the Ombudsman may realize his/her powers to conduct verification under received grievances has not been specified. This formulation comprises state bodies, against whose acts and actions Ombudsman institu-tion could not exercise control. This includes, for ex-ample, activities related to the carrying out of judicial power, or the activities of private legal entities deliver-ing public services. These discrepancies and loopholes lead to contradictions and uncertainties in the appli-cation of the Ombudsman Act, which detracts from the efficacy of the institution.
Citizen advocacy in Bulgaria is regulated by a series of rules regarding the activities of local advo-cates, adopted as decisions of municipal councils. The statute of the Ombudsman of Sofia Municipality is regulated by a decision establishing the institution, and by rules for the organization of the ombuds-man.62 In accordance with the requirements of the rules, the Ombudsman publishes an activity analysis every three months, along with an annual report.
Both are accessible to citizens via the web site of Sofia Municipality.63 In 2002, the Ombudsman dealt with 381 cases. Two-thirds of these were “fact-checking”
for grievances and appeals, and one-third required mediation related to procedures for delivering admin-istrative services.
Currently, there are public mediators working in a number of municipalities with the support of NGO pilot projects.64 Ombudsman offices function in 20 municipalities of varying sizes. The new Ombudsman Act does not regulate these municipalities.
have been explicitly provided for by the law. Local ref-erenda held in two Bulgarian municipalities under the Balkan Assist initiative showed extremely low voter participation. Voters in Elena and Sevlievo comprised about 7 percent of the total electorate. General assem-blies represent a form of direct participation in the resolution of issues of local importance. They consist of all voters in the localities in which they are held, and are used to solve concrete issues pertaining to the vital interests of the citizens from a particular locality.
Finally, through petitions, citizens make proposals to their municipal council regarding solutions to perti-nent issues (Figure 10).
2.5.2.2 Consulting Citizens Regarding Changes to Service Delivery Procedures
Public participation has increasingly been recognized as a key factor for the successful planning and imple-mentation of regional development. Thus, local com-munity members must be included in solving prob-lems of social and economic significance, as well as environmental problems. This calls for the inclusion of various interests and needs, as well as for a desire on the part of the government to develop partnerships.
There is a range of norms in Bulgarian legislation regulating public participation in the development and adoption of plans in the fields of environment,
construction investment, and territorial regulation.
Many norms are aimed directly at the local govern-ment (municipal mayors and municipal councils), as far as the adoption of such plans and the requirements for public discussion are within their competence.66
The main tool for conducting consultative proc-esses locally, when this is not required by law, are public discussions—such as holding open public meetings to discuss draft projects related to territo-rial regulation, environmental protection, and so on.
There is also a tendency to organize such meetings and discussions on issues concerning local policies or concrete proposals of local government. These, how-ever, are not regulated in the normative acts (muni-cipal council orders and decisions) of a local govern-ment.
A municipal council can include in its permanent and temporary committees other experts, apart from municipal councilors,67 which could be seen as an opportunity for enhancing citizen participation and consultation. Permanent committees are tasked with surveying the needs of the local population, making proposals for resolving expressed problems, provid-ing support to the municipal council in preparprovid-ing its decisions on raised issues, and exercising control on the execution of municipal council decisions. They can engage external bodies as experts and
consult-Figure 10.
Survey: Extent to which Municipal Problem-solving Depends on Citizens’ Activity
Source: S. Delcheva 2003. pp.44–45.
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
0
11.8
Sofia
33.3
24.4
Big town
14.9
17.8
Small town
35.2
12.6
Rural
26.9
Depends strongly Does not depend [Percent of
respondents]
ants. Legally, permanent committees adopt proposals and recommendations in relation to the issue under consideration, which are sent to the municipal coun-cil and respective interested parties. There are no regulatory requirements or practices for consulting stakeholders from the local community regarding drafting and introducing changes in procedures for administrative service delivery.68
Regional development planning as part of the country’s preparation for EU accession could have considerable influence on the development of prac-tices to enhance citizen participation. In this context, encouraging regional development is closely related to the utilization of EU structural funds, and a main principle in the work of EU structural funds, empha-sized by the European Commission, is the principle
of partnership. In this study, e-mail interviews with administration employees revealed that consultations with local community representatives on planning local government policies had taken place (Figures 11, 12).
In regard to regional planning, this study uncovered and identified a range of initiatives, including training seminars for municipal administration employees and municipal council representatives on the principles of developing and conducting consultations when plan-ning local community development. These seminars aim to contribute to the improvement of the institu-tional capacity of local government, both in relation to the concrete requirements for the application of regional planning,69 and in planning the overall social and economic development of the local community.
Figure 12.
Representatives of which Groups Have Taken Part in the Consultative Process?
Source: Survey conducted by the author within the current project.
Figure 11.
Cases in which Consultations with Representatives of the Local Community Are Used
Source: Survey conducted by the author within the current project.
When introducing new administrative services or changes in the organization of their provision When adopting municipal
council ordinances When developing the municipal development strategy
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
14 13 7
[Number of municipalities]
[Number of municipalities]
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
0
13
Local business companies working on the territory of the
municipality
6
Local non-governmental organizations
4
Civil associations/
groups
2.5.2.3 Participation of Local NGOs in Consultations among Stakeholders
Civil society organizations in Bulgaria face challenges characteristic of organizations at the early stages of their development. A considerable number of NGOs work in the sphere of local self-governance (Vitosha Research Agency 1997). NGO initiatives include sup-port for developing municipal information centers;70 training seminars for representatives of municipal administrations and municipal councils working in the sphere of regional planning and European integra-tion;71 surveys of opportunities to adopt independent institutions similar to that of the ombudsman;72 and so on. Activities of NGOs are funded primarily by donor projects, and are not always trusted by local authorities.73 Many NGOs have taken part in the systematization of data and documents necessary for receiving certain services, and in the distribution of free brochures containing such information. These initiatives help raise public awareness, but the level of topicality and usefulness depends on the competence of experts, considering the frequent changes in the legislation.
Table 6.
Degree of Trust in Non-governmental Organizations by Locality
Answered “trust very much”
and “trust some”
Big town 10.6
Medium town 9.5
Small town 8.3
Rural area 7.4
Source: International IDEA 2002. p.19.
Attitudes about the work of NGOs are predomi-nantly negative, based on stereotypes formed at the beginning of transition, when the public learned about illegal activities conducted behind the cover of NGOs. Another reason for negative attitudes is the lack of information among citizens about the aims and outcomes of the activities of various civic organi-zations. The average level of trust in NGOs is below 10 percent;74 less than 1 percent of citizens indicate that they are members of NGOs and 85 percent had never
3. POLICY OPTIONS AND