Local Administration in Recovery Forum
Local councils always face political challenges in addition to administrative, social, financial and economic challenges, which requires a deep and transparent discussion about this, and about how to advance the roles of these councils, to constitute effective tools in achieving stability and fair representation of local communities.
Accordingly, the “Local Administration Forum in the Recovery Phase,” which is being held by the Nation Building Movement at its headquarters in Damascus on September 6-7, 2024, continued to hold its sessions within the framework of completing the topics and pillars that represent the priorities of this phase.
The sessions of the third part of the forum, which were titled “The Political Pillar”, began with a review of the various problems related to the outcomes of the two previous parts (the social and economic pillars in the first part and the administrative and financial pillars in the second part). The sessions addressed political issues related to the local administration framework necessary to achieve national stability, such as the principle of representation, the electoral system, and the structure of local councils and how to advance them to be an effective pillar of political development, while ensuring the independence of these councils and legally fortifying them, in addition to the balance of relations between the center and localities and their role in building peace and stability at the country level in general.
The participants (a number of governorate secretaries-general, heads of governorate councils, members of governorate councils, journalists, experts, and political figures) discussed the ability of the current electoral system to ensure meaningful representation aimed at restoring confidence in local and national institutions and contributing to local stability, the role of political parties in enhancing local representation, and the role of civil society in bridging representation gaps.
The necessary considerations when dealing with the duality of elections and appointments within these councils were also discussed, as well as the advantages and problems associated with some of the basic joints in the work of local administration, in addition to the diminished independence of local councils and the mechanisms necessary to protect the administrative and financial independence of these councils, the regulations governing the management of relations between different levels of local councils and the central government, and the urgent need for financial independence.
Finally, the importance of immunity in activating local action, the challenges of accountability imposed by dual supervision, and the role of the judiciary in protecting local governance were addressed.
More details about the session can be found in the photo reports below.