CHAPTER 3

DIRECT SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE

Article 24 — Forms of Direct Democracy

The people exercise direct sovereignty through:

  1. Elections
  2. National referendums
  3. Legislative initiatives
  4. Constitutional initiatives
  5. Recall of elected officials
  6. Digital democratic instruments

Article 25 — Referendums

  1. A national referendum is binding and has supreme legal force after the Constitution.

  2. A referendum is mandatory for any constitutional amendment.

  3. A referendum on major national legislation shall be held when initiated by: a) at least five percent of registered voters; or b) a majority of the Lower House.

  4. Referendums shall be administered by an independent electoral authority.

  5. The Constitutional Court shall review referendum questions prior to voting.

  6. The validity of a national referendum requires participation of at least forty percent of registered voters and a majority of valid votes cast.

  7. Initiation and verification timeline: a) The independent electoral authority shall verify signature initiatives within thirty calendar days of submission, including a random statistical audit of at least 3% of submitted signatures or 5,000 signatures, whichever is greater. b) If the random audit indicates material irregularities, the authority shall expand verification and may reject the initiative only if a clear majority of audited items are invalid. c) The authority shall publish verification results and a public report of procedures within five days of completion.

  8. Scheduling and campaign rules: a) A certified referendum shall be scheduled within ninety to one hundred and twenty calendar days of certification. b) The electoral authority shall publish the official question, explanatory text, and impartial impact statement no later than sixty days before the vote. c) Campaign financing for referendum campaigns shall be subject to public disclosure requirements, contribution limits, and equal broadcast/media access rules established by law and enforced by the independent electoral authority or a designated regulator. d) Independent observers and party agents shall be permitted to monitor all stages of the process.

  9. Dispute resolution and interim relief: a) Challenges to question text, certification, or conduct of a referendum shall be eligible for expedited judicial review; courts shall consider interim relief within seventy‑two hours and issue final decisions within thirty calendar days absent exceptional circumstances. b) The Constitutional Court shall have priority jurisdiction for constitutional disputes concerning referendum validity or compatibility with eternity clauses.

Article 25a — Local Participation (Prohibition of Local Referendums)

  1. Local referendums are prohibited and may not be used to decide matters of secession, transfer of sovereignty, alteration of national borders, or changes to the unitary character of the Republic.

  2. Local self-government shall instead ensure direct local participation through: a) local popular initiatives subject to verification by the independent electoral authority under the same verification and audit rules applicable to national initiatives; b) public consultations and hearings; c) digitally enabled signature collection and participatory budgeting tools meeting the standards of Article 29; and d) recall procedures as provided in Article 28.

  3. Constitutional law shall set clear procedures, transparency safeguards, and judicial review for local participatory mechanisms to protect national unity and constitutional principles.

Article 26 — Popular Legislative Initiative

  1. Citizens may propose laws by submitting a legislative initiative supported by at least two percent of registered voters.

  2. Parliament shall consider such initiative within sixty (60) days of formal receipt. The independent electoral authority shall transmit a certified initiative to Parliament within thirty (30) calendar days of certification.

  3. Signature verification and publication: a) The independent electoral authority shall verify signatures within thirty calendar days and publish a verification report. b) Initiatives must be accompanied by a plain‑language explanatory memorandum and a fiscal impact statement prepared or certified by the Government or an independent fiscal office prior to parliamentary consideration.

  4. If Parliament rejects or amends the initiative substantially, it shall be submitted to a referendum upon request of the initiators under the procedures of Article 25.

Article 27 — Constitutional Initiative

  1. Citizens may propose constitutional amendments supported by at least five percent of registered voters.

  2. Such proposals shall be submitted directly to referendum after Constitutional Court review.

  3. Verification and timing: a) The independent electoral authority shall verify constitutional‑initiative signatures within sixty calendar days of submission, applying an enhanced random audit of at least 5% of signatures or 10,000 signatures, whichever is greater. b) After Constitutional Court review, a verified constitutional initiative shall be placed on the ballot within ninety calendar days.

  4. Due safeguards: signature‑collection campaigns for constitutional initiatives shall be subject to stricter transparency, donor disclosure, and audit provisions established by law to prevent foreign or illicit influence.

Article 28 — Recall of Officials

  1. Any elected official may be recalled before the end of term.

  2. Recall of national officials requires: a) signatures of at least five percent of voters; b) turnout of at least forty percent; c) a majority of valid votes in favor.

  3. Procedural safeguards and timing: a) Recall signature submissions shall be verified by the independent electoral authority within thirty calendar days, with a random audit of at least 3% or 5,000 signatures. b) A recall may not be initiated within the first twelve months following the official’s election nor within the final six months of the official’s term. c) The authority shall publish verification results and permit expedited judicial challenge; courts shall decide interim measures within seventy‑two hours where liberty, office, or essential public services are at risk.

  4. Recall of local officials requires lower thresholds defined by law but shall follow the verification, timing, and judicial‑review safeguards in paragraphs 3a–3b.

Article 29 — Digital Democracy

  1. The Republic guarantees the constitutional right to digital participation in democratic processes.

  2. Electronic voting, digital signature collection, and online initiatives are permitted.

  3. Technical and procedural standards: a) Any digital democratic system used in elections, referendums, signature collection, or recalls must: i) provide a voter‑verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or equivalent human‑readable confirmation that can be audited independently; ii) support end‑to‑end verifiability and independent cryptographic audits without compromising ballot secrecy; iii) retain immutable, timestamped audit logs and chain‑of‑custody records for devices, software, and data, subject to secure access by authorized auditors and courts; iv) implement strong authentication, encryption, and data‑protection measures consistent with Article 15 and DPA guidance. b) Core electoral and signature‑collection software that affects vote/verification integrity shall be open source or public‑code with redacted operational secrets to allow independent technical review; procurement shall require independent certification by accredited testing laboratories and a public technical audit before deployment. c) All digital electoral systems shall operate in a publicly accessible test environment and run a publicly announced end‑to‑end trial before substantive use; a documented contingency paper‑based fallback shall be mandatory. d) Independent technical audits and legal reviews shall be conducted regularly and their findings published, with remedial orders enforced by the independent electoral authority and subject to judicial review.

  4. Observers and transparency: a) Domestic and international observers, accredited civil‑society auditors, and party agents shall have access to audits, testing procedures, and chain‑of‑custody records consistent with security and court orders. b) A public bug‑bounty and responsible‑disclosure program shall be required for systems used in national democratic processes.

  5. Sanctions and remedies: a) Failure to comply with certification, audit, or VVPAT requirements shall suspend system use and require fallback to verifiable paper procedures. b) Evidence of material technical compromise shall trigger automatic suspension of affected results pending urgent judicial and technical review; courts shall have authority to order recounts, annulments, or reruns where necessary to protect constitutional rights.

Article 30 — Protection of Democratic Order

  1. The democratic constitutional order is inviolable.

  2. Activities aimed at establishing dictatorship, abolishing democracy, or undermining constitutional governance are prohibited.

  3. The state shall resist unconstitutional seizure of power by all lawful means, including judicial review, parliamentary action, and enforcement by constitutionally authorized institutions.

  4. Constitutional law shall define the conditions, procedures, and oversight for the exercise of the right to constitutional resistance, and shall prohibit private violence, unlawful militias, and partisan armed action outside lawful constitutional defense.

Article 31 — Eternity of Fundamental Principles

The following are unamendable:

  1. Human dignity
  2. Democratic parliamentary republic
  3. Sovereignty of the people
  4. Separation of powers
  5. Independence of courts
  6. Fundamental rights and freedoms