Your Voice Deserves a Seat: Launching Our Campaign for a permanent Citizens’ Assembly
Today, we officially launch our campaign: “Your voice deserves a seat.” With this campaign, we call on the Belgian Chamber of Representatives to establish a permanent Citizens’ Assembly that structurally involves citizens in federal policymaking.
The reason for this campaign is clear: democracy is under pressure. Across the world, trust in political institutions is declining, and Belgium is no exception. Today, only one in four Belgians feels sufficiently heard by politics. Many people feel disconnected from political decision-making and believe their voices no longer matter in between elections. We cannot continue to watch this trend unfold year after year, election after election, without taking action.
At the same time, Belgium now has a unique opportunity to strengthen its democracy. As the federal government debates the possible abolition of the Senate, we believe this conversation should not only focus on removing institutions, but also on improving democratic participation. Our message is simple: don’t just remove a part of democracy but strengthen it.
Instead of reducing democratic involvement, Belgium can become a pioneer by creating a permanent space where citizens are directly involved in shaping important societal choices. Not once, not symbolically, but as a structural and lasting part of our democratic system.
That is why we propose the creation of a permanent Citizens’ Assembly composed of randomly selected citizens who reflect the diversity of Belgian society. This Assembly would have a meaningful institutional role within federal policymaking. It could place important societal issues on the political agenda, mandate citizen panels to deliberate on major challenges, hear from experts and stakeholders, formulate recommendations for policymakers, and monitor the political follow-up by the Chamber of Representatives.
This proposal is not about replacing elected representatives or creating yet another political institution. It is about complementing representative democracy with a stronger form of citizen participation. A permanent Citizens’ Assembly would create a durable, thoughtful and visible way for citizens to contribute to the decisions that shape our collective future. Such an Assembly could be anchored through constitutional reform, ordinary legislation or changes to parliamentary rules of procedure.
Today, we officially kicked off the campaign with a public action at Muntplein in Brussels and the launch of our petition. We want to sincerely thank all our partners, participants, everyone who joined us at Muntplein, and the hundreds of people who have already signed the petition.
Our goal is ambitious but clear: we want to collect 25,000 signatures so that Parliament is required to formally respond to the proposal. But this campaign is about more than a single reform. It is about the future of democracy in Belgium.
We believe in a democracy with more participation, more trust and a stronger voice for citizens. If you share that vision, sign the petition and help spread the campaign within your network. Your voice deserves a seat.
The abolition of the Senate is a unique opportunity to place citizens at the heart of our democracy. Today, only one in four citizens feels truly heard, while democratic institutions across the world are increasingly under pressure. A permanent Citizens’ Assembly within the Senate would bring fresh oxygen into our democracy: more trust, broader public support, and better decision-making.
Adélaïde Charlier & Ben Eersels, G1000 co-directors