Calls to strengthen the right to petition in Saxony

In Saxony, there have been calls for the right to petition to be strengthened. This is particularly important in times when democracy is being called into question, the Left Party in the Saxon state parliament claimed on Wednesday after a hearing on the petition system. "Petitions offer the opportunity to participate in the democratic process and submit proposals. The parliamentary system thrives on these impulses," emphasized Marika Tändler-Walenta, member of the state parliament. To achieve this, however, the influence of citizens must be perceptible. Saxony's petition law is more than 30 years old and has lagged hopelessly behind social and technological developments.

In Tändler-Walenta's opinion, the hurdles for petitions must be lowered. "Everyone should be able to submit petitions - which is why they should also be able to be submitted in Braille, orally or in sign language - as in Hesse or Thuringia." It is also important to make use of the opportunities offered by digitalization. The state parliament must enable online petitions, as the Bundestag already did in 2005. In addition, the state government should have to respond to a petition within four weeks of it being submitted, or within seven days in urgent cases. Final administrative decisions should also be able to be the subject of a petition.

The "Mehr Demokratie" association supported the Left Party's demands. "The Left has presented a good draft. The CDU, Greens and SPD should take up the proposal and implement their own coalition agreement," emphasized Ralf-Uwe Beck, spokesperson for the association's federal board and an expert at the committee hearing: "Trust in democracy is declining. Public petitions are a good way to restore trust and make parliament a tangible experience for more people."