Request for advice
A council request (also known as a "council referendum") is an instrument of direct democracy in Germany . Besides the possibility of the township population , through direct participation in the form of a self-initiated citizens' decision to participate in the political decision-making process, there is in all provinces, the authorization for the local councils to make decisions for which they are themselves responsible (own sphere, no ongoing task, not the task pane of Mayor), to be given to the citizens of the municipality.
This happens whenever local politicians think that the population should vote on an issue. The municipal council then decides of its own accord to carry out a “referendum initiated from above”. This can also be a counter-proposal to a referendum initiated by the citizens.
This decision is to be made with a simple or a two-thirds majority , depending on the respective municipal regulations .
In Germany, a total of 1,242 requests for councils / referendums took place between 1956 and 2017 (Citizens' Initiative Report 2018 by Mehr Demokratie ).
literature
- Frank Rehmet u. a. Citizens' petition report 2018 published by Mehr Demokratie e. V. in cooperation with the Research Center Citizen Participation, University of Wuppertal and the Research Center Citizen Participation and Direct Democracy, University of Marburg. Berlin, 2018.
- Hofmann / Theisen: Local law in NRW . 13th edition, formerly Hofmann / Muth / Theisen . Publisher: bernhardt-witten.de, Witten 2008, ISBN 978-3-933870-80-3 (there on request for advice p. 183-187)