A public seminar Referendum in Costa Rica: International Lessons and National Challenges was held in San Jose, Costa Rica on 21-22 August 2007 ahead of the forthcoming referendum on the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Scheduled for October 2007, this is the country’s first direct democracy vote.
The Seminar was jointly sponsored by International IDEA and Costa Rica’s Supreme Electoral Court (Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, TSE). It was attended by some 80 academics, politicians and electoral management body officials.
International IDEA’s Regional Director for Latin America, Daniel Zovatto set the groundwork for the seminar with a comparative analysis on the use of direct democracy mechanisms throughout the region. Direct democracy should be seen as a complement to representative democracy and never as its substitute. Dr Zovatto argued that where citizens have little confidence in parliament and political parties, direct democracy institutions are viewed as a valid option for improving representation, increasing participation and ensuring that the political system works.
Specific experiences on the use of referendums in Panama, Colombia, Uruguay, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Switzerland and Italy were discussed during the seminar.
Participants then discussed the challenges Costa Rica will face after the referendum is held on 7 October 2007. Analyst Rodolfo Cerdas underscored the need for Costa Rica to move towards a process of political reform after the referendum aimed at strengthening the country’s democracy and institutions.
In drawing together the seminar discussions, the President of TSE highlighted the need to analyse direct democracy institutions within their own political context, taking into account each country’s political culture, and also identifying how they can benefit the democratic system as a whole. He also took the opportunity to appeal for Costa Ricans to vote on 7 October in a respectful, tolerant atmosphere.
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