The Impact of the D21 Method and Its Modification on Citizens’ Participation in Participatory Budgeting. The Case of the Czech Republic

Abstract

Participatory budgeting (PB) is often discussed as a tool to support active participation of citizens in the decision-making in the matters of the distribution of public resources. However, little was said about the possibility that the choice of a voting method used in the voting phase of the PB process could affect the participation in PB. In the Czech Republic, the Democracy 2.1 (D21) voting method is often used in municipalities implementing PB and additionally, it is promoted as a method to encourage more people to vote. This article aims to determine Czech municipalities with the D21 method and its modification, and to evaluate the impact of choosing these voting methods on participation rate in PB. The study suggests that the choice of a voting method is relevant for citizens´ engagement in voting. Based on the empirical findings, the D21 method and its modification are associated with a higher voter turnout in PB than another voting method. Further, the results underline the influence of external organizations offering online platforms for voting.

Untitled

“…. In the Czech Republic, based on data published by the non-governmental organisation Agora CE, almost 2/3 of the participatory budgets were carried on, while voting was changed to an online form(Kukučková and Poláchová, 2021). The participatory budgeting in V4 countries is the least developed in Hungary with PB starting only in 2016, with less than 0.5% of local self-governments using this tool.…”