Representative recall

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In a representative democracy, representative recall provides a procedure by which constituents can remove a representative from office before his or her term ends.

This constitutes an instrument of direct democracy or of mediated direct democracy. Some consider this measure alone sufficient to satisfy grassroots democracy advocates, but most find it inadequate without other measures, e.g. referenda, electoral reform, bioregional democracy, that increase political accountability, and increase the role of citizens.

The Canadian province of British Columbia has representative recall. In that province, voters in a provincial riding can petition to have a sitting representative removed from office, even a Premier presently leading a government. If enough voters sign the petition, a referendum takes place, and if successful a by-election follows as soon as possible, giving the opportunity to replace the politician in question. Fourteen United States states have similar measures in their constitutions - and many more municipalities - but generally these measures fail to operate more readily than in British Columbia, which in January 2003 achieved a record twenty-two such recall efforts (all of which ultimately failed, however).

Gray Davis, the 37th Governor of California faced a recall election in 2003 after several million citizens petitioned the government for a gubernatorial by-election. United States voters have previously successfully recalled just one governor, removing North Dakota Governor Lynn Frazier from office in 1921.

An actual recall law need not always apply to all representatives. Given effective party discipline and laws which give parties the power to disempower sitting representatives, then an informal system of representative recall becomes possible. Again in Canada, the federal Canadian Alliance Party (CA) has made representative recall part of its platform for electoral reform, and implements it (in a way) within its party. If the members of any CA riding association vote to recall a CA federal Member of Parliament presently in office, that representative loses all funding and support for re-election, and other CA members cannot sit in caucus with them, nor share party funds with them. In effect, these measures force the resignation of the recalled member, as they become ineffective due to political isolation, social pressure and ridicule.

See also: representative democracy, electoral reform, grassroots democracy

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Representative recall" http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_recall August 11, 2003