PRESS RELEASE, 30th October 2013
THE PEOPLE’S CONTRACT will be launched at a public meeting in Gurranabraher next Wednesday 6th November. Voters are being asked to nominate their own candidates for the coming Local and European elections, and not to rely on the Political Parties.
Nominated candidates will be asked to sign THE PEOPLE’S CONTRACT, a solemn undertaking to seek mandate for all decisions made, through a system of continuous broad public consultation in each electoral area.
THE PEOPLE’S CONTRACT will eliminate the Party ‘whip’ system and ensure that it is the people’s policy preferences that guides City Council and all representation.
Spokesperson for The People’s Convention (CPPC), Diarmaid Ó Cadhla, said that THE PEOPLE’S CONTRACT “places the voter at centre stage, it means that the people will drive all decision making, through organised public consultations on every issue, including Budgets and service delivery.”
The contract is based on the existing provisions of Bunreacht na hÉireann, it is not proposing new structures. Ó Cadhla says “our Constitution talks about the representation of constituencies and local communities, it makes no provision for Parties or for individuals to represent themselves”.
The focus of the meeting next Wednesday will be to highlight that we need People’s Candidates who contract to represent our communities, if Party candidates want support they should sign this contract with the people – otherwise they are not democratic.
THE PEOPLE’S CONTRACT is not tied to any organisation, all democratic individuals and organisations are being encouraged to adopt it – it promises the empowerment of the people and an end to rule by Political Parties.
The plan being launched by The People’s Convention is ambitious, it wants the people to contest every seat on City and County council – with a view to winning. Ó Cadhla says that CPPC would “like to see at least 31 People’s Candidates in Cork city but if there are 90 then even better, everyone who rejects the policy impositions we have endured should pay the €50 price and take a stand for the people.” He says that “if the people of Cork take this step to ensure that our communities are represented, and not any Party, then we will have made history”.
Diarmaid Ó Cadhla said: “This will be the first step towards solving the question of democratic representation nationally and therefore be the first step towards solving all of our economic, social and political problems.”
Copies of THE PEOPLE’S CONTRACT are available online at https://www.cppc.ie or by visiting Ionad an Phobail (Resource Centre) on Douglas Street.
The meeting next week is upstairs in the Top of the Hill Bar off Cathedral Road, on Wed. 6th, it will be repeated in each Local Electoral Area over the coming weeks.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Diarmaid Ó Cadhla (mobile 086-3805005),
Spokesperson,
The People’s Convention (Cork)
