On July 18, 2015, a training seminar "School of Local Democracy" took place in Uzhhorod, organized by the Ukrainian Independent Center for Political Research (Project "Citizens in Action") in cooperation with the Carpathian Agency of Human Rights "Vested" and the Institute of Political Education.
During the School, public activists from Uzhhorod, Mukachevo, and Vynohradiv had the opportunity to learn about the practical work of local self-government bodies in Ukraine; how to be a local council deputy "without a deputy badge" and prepare draft decisions for consideration at council meetings; what opportunities and tools exist for controlling local authorities; how to protect their interests before local authorities through public hearings; what a draft local council decision is and how to prepare it. The process of decentralization of power and local self-government reform has begun in Ukraine, but the transfer of powers and resources to the local level is impossible without ensuring the accountability and transparency of local self-government bodies to citizens, – said Maksym Latsyba, head of the Civil Society Development Program at the Ukrainian Independent Center for Political Research. Local self-government reform should be comprehensive and based on the transfer of powers and finances to communities, and most importantly, the transfer of responsibility to citizens for the state of affairs in the community. Therefore, a very important task is to establish a dialogue between citizens and authorities, to bridge the gap between members of the territorial community and local self-government bodies, and to introduce principles of openness and accountability in the work of local authorities. Experts from Kyiv noted that three mechanisms of local democracy in Uzhhorod are still the best among other regional centers of the country. These are public hearings, which can be initiated by 30 people in Uzhhorod, the adoption of a regulation on the Public Council, and local initiatives – a procedure by which 50 Uzhhorod residents can submit draft decisions for consideration by the city council session.
Mykola Yatskov, Deputy Head of the Carpathian Agency of Human Rights "Vested", familiarized the School participants with the practice of applying public hearing procedures and local initiatives using the example of Uzhhorod. As of July 1, 2015, 10 public hearings were held in Uzhhorod, five of which were initiated by citizens (on the work of KP "Vodokanal", on compliance with legislation by city council employees, on the detailed development plan for the rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, on the privatization of communal property, on the restoration of Peremoha Park), as well as on the single local initiative (of the society for people with disabilities) that was carried out. Problems of negotiating with conflicting initiatives were discussed, using the example of supporters of preserving Peremoha Park and supporters of building a hospice on the park's territory, etc.
Overall, local democracy mechanisms are merely tools that allow for building constructive relationships between citizens and authorities within the legal framework. Citizens should be more active in defending community interests, know and understand procedures, and use the full arsenal of opportunities to influence authorities, from information requests and situation analysis to broad information campaigns. Only in this way will decentralization reform take place, said Ivan Lukerya, an expert at the Ukrainian Independent Center for Political Research. For reference: On April 11, 2014, the Uzhhorod City Council adopted three procedures for applying local democracy mechanisms and allowed Uzhhorod residents to participate in city governance.