Reforming the Electoral System: Renewing Democracy

Renewing democracy involves many dimensions: improving the functioning of all institutions, particularly political parties; better designing the financing of parties and political foundations; creating stronger forums for public debate; and, last but not least, reforming the electoral system.

The project “Reforming the Electoral System, Renewing Democracy” is an initiative of the Institute of Public Policy with a clear ambition: to improve the electoral system. Achieving this goal will depend on the support it receives from citizens.

In the meantime, the project has already begun to bear fruit. We highlight, in particular, the following achievements:

• Launch of a crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds necessary to start the project.

• Launch event on 12 December 2024 at ICS–ULisboa, marking the public beginning of the initiative. The challenges of the current electoral system were outlined, the project’s objectives were presented, and the groundwork was laid in a session featuring contributions from Paulo Trigo Pereira (ISEG-ULisboa and President of IPP), Marina Costa Lobo (Director of ICS-ULisboa), Sofia Serra-Silva (ICS-ULisboa and IPP Board Member), Marco Lisi (NOVA FCSH), and Guya Accornero (Iscte-IUL).

• Public session presenting the manifesto in Miranda do Douro, organised in collaboration with the Municipal Council and the Associação Círculo de Estudos do Centralismo. This event promoted public discussion on the challenges of the current electoral system and the relevance of its reform, taking place outside major urban centres in a region disadvantaged by the current system. The session included contributions from the Mayor of Miranda do Douro, Helena Barril, and the President of ACEC, Sebastião Feyo de Azevedo, as well as a presentation by Professor Paulo Trigo Pereira, President of IPP.

• Establishment of a group of academics currently working on reviewing content available on the website (namely FAQs on electoral systems and analysis of previous proposals in the Portuguese context), as well as developing technically robust proposals.

• Preparation of a funding application to gather citizens’ views on electoral reform, including the organisation of focus groups.

• Consultative meetings with youth wings of political parties and other political actors, with the aim of collecting diverse perspectives, deepening democratic dialogue, and preparing the next phases of engagement with political stakeholders.

• Formation of a group of Members of Parliament, bringing political parties into the centre of the debate on electoral reform, which will necessarily require parliamentary consensus for approval within the framework of a Citizens’ Legislative Initiative—the ultimate goal of this project.

• Launch of the project’s official website (in portuguese), which provides further information about this initiative as well as educational content on electoral systems, available at the following link: https://reformarosistemaeleitoral.com/