Pro-poor democracy?

Does representative democracy give poor people a voice? Do municipal decision makers respond to poor people's needs and priorities? Can the poor lodge complaints when services fail to operate adequately? Is a combination of formal structures of representative democracy and mechanisms permitting organised political engagement the answer?

Research on the responsiveness to poor residents of political systems in ten cities found that:

* Ward-based elections allow greater responsiveness of councillors to their constituents than do party list electoral systems.

* Proportional representation or mixed systems may give better representation to minorities.

* Quota systems (India, the Philippines) attempt to ensure adequate representation of different groups (for example women or minorities) but how can such representatives be held to account?

* An elected executive mayor may deliver more decisive city government and clearer accountability than an executive council system. Yet, the latter depends on whether the legislature can exercise effective scrutiny whilst a mayor’s responsiveness to the needs of the poor is linked to his or her dependence on their votes.

* Where political office is held for a single short term, priority is often given to visible, rapid achievements rather than longer term improvement of basic services - usually more relevant to the poor.

Formal structures of representative democracy are important, as is organised political engagement. There is a need for poor groups to move the political process beyond clientelistic relationships, towards open political bargaining. Additional democratic mechanisms are perhaps needed to ensure participation by poor people in policy making, project planning and service operation, such as:

* integration of organised interests into the political structure, as in Recife, Cebu and Johannesburg

* formal consultation of interests

* involvement in budgeting, as in Recife, and service management

* participatory democracy at the neighbourhood level, as in Colombo’s informal settlement upgrading programme

* an elected sub-city level of government (in large cities) with real resources to help bring decision-making closer to the poor.

A combination of representative and participatory democracy and different accountability mechanisms (elections, public meetings, free media, controls by the municipality, central government or the judiciary) can in principle produce a city government that is responsive to poor citizens. In practice however, real dilemmas exist in resolving competing demands, whilst clientelism and informal political relationships are pervasive. Most cities - not just those in this study - fall short of an ideal of democratic inclusive politics.

Ways of ensuring that political systems and processes result in appropriate local governance for poor urban residents include:

* design of electoral arrangements that give a voice to poor people and mechanisms that ensure accountability

* provision for closer involvement by residents in decision making at city and local levels

* careful appraisal by donors of local political processes to ensure they engage with appropriate institutions - NGOs and community organisations - and with city government

* design of donor-supported interventions to strengthen the position of poor people

Source(s):
Full document: Insights#38 - 'City Politics. A voice for the poor' http://www.id21.org/insights/insights38/index.html
'Urban Governance, Partnership and Poverty: ESCOR-funded Research in Ten Cities', University of Birmingham, by Nick Devas et al 1998-2001 http://www.bham.ac.uk/IDD/activities/urban/urbgov.htm

Funded by: Department for International Development (Escor)

Date: 1 November 2001

Further Information:
Carole Rakodi
IDD
School of Public Policy
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham B15 2TT
UK

Email: c.rakodi@bham.ac.uk

School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham, UK http://www.bham.ac.uk/IDD/

Other related links:

'Kid’s stuff? Lessons in participation from Bangalore' http://www.id21.org/society/s3add1g1.html

'Governing our Cities: Will People Power work?' from Panos http://www.panos.org.uk/environment/governing_our_cities.htm

BLP works towards improved urban governance and poverty reduction http://www.sustainabledevelopment.org/blp/blpmain.html

ESCAP focuses on urban poverty and human settlements in the Asia-Pacific region http://www.unescap.org/huset/index.html

TUGI Virtual Policy Studio concentrates on urban issues http://cebe.cf.ac.uk/tugi/