is currently being promoted on change.org as follows: “Immediate impeachment and resignation of the entire government - The traffic light must go!!!” (sic!)
We at Mimikama asked ourselves what the chances of success of such online petitions are and whether we need to be prepared for an imminent change of government as a result of this petition.
What is a petition?
A petition is a type of complaint or request to a government authority. Is someone e.g. For example, if you do not agree with certain laws and would like to bring about a change or would like to point out grievances, you can address this to the legislature in the form of a petition. Due to our basic democratic rights, all citizens (including minors, foreigners, stateless people, citizens' initiatives, associations) can submit a petition on various topics.
These petitions encourage politicians to discuss certain topics. However, that does not mean that politicians actually have to implement something. You can, but do not necessarily have to, work on the suggested topics. However, the more people “demonstrate” for or against a specific common issue in the form of a petition, the greater the public pressure on legislators to address this issue.
How does the petition work?
The process of submitting a petition is very easy. All it takes is a few clicks and a simple registration on a state petition portal and you have the option of submitting your concerns to, for example, the German Bundestag (see: Source: https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/epet/peteinreichen.html ) or to to establish a state parliament. It is also possible to contact local authorities directly (e.g. health department, immigration authority, mayor, etc.). The request can be submitted in writing or electronically.
It is also important to think about jurisdiction before submitting a petition. If the topic concerns the municipality, the federal government or even the EU, you should submit it directly to the responsible petitions committee. If the petition ends up in the wrong place, the already long waiting times become even longer.
Can you use private platforms such as change.org , OpenPetition or AVAAZ.org for petitions?
Nope! To date, over 200,000 people have clicked “Support” change.org petition However, these private petition platforms do NOT forward the concerns and the collected clicks to the actually responsible bodies in the federal or state parliament (as described above). The “signatures” or “consents” remain alone in the portal and “fizzle out.”
In an interview in the Jenaer Nachrichten, Dr. Ute Bergner, member of the Thuringian Petitions Committee, said that these online petitions receive no attention in parliament because they are not made via a state petition platform (state parliament or Bundestag). Another big problem is that co-voters who have already voted on a certain topic on one of the private platforms think that co-signing on a platform of the state or federal parliament is no longer necessary, since they have already voted on the private one online platform. According to Bergner, this would “direct a lot of people’s energy in the wrong direction and weaken the effect of a petition.” (See source: https://www.jenaer-nachrichten.de/stadtleben/15194-petitionen-auf-change-org -and-co-move-nothing )
Even if these private portals cannot achieve anything politically, there is often a media echo.
Has the petition against the traffic light government already reached the petitions committee?
Probably not. Of course, we don't know whether this or a similar petition against the traffic light government was properly presented in the Bundestag. However, it can be assumed that the more than 200,000 people, as Bergner reports, think that their vote on change.org already has the necessary weight to bring about political changes and therefore no longer vote on a state side. It can therefore be assumed that we do not yet have to get used to a new government. Additionally, Dr. According to Ute Bergner, quick change is rare and this is “also due to the democratic process”.
What can you start a petition against?
In December 2013, Mimikama started an attempt on the petition platform AVAAZ.ORG and directed the petition: “To my wife: more chocolate” against Tom Wannenmacher’s wife. She shouldn't take chocolate away from her husband in the future. (See: Looking under the microscope! avaaz petition "FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT: Abolition of the GEZ - No compulsory financing of media companies" ) The reason for this test petition was to understand the technical functionality of online petitions and showed that petitions like those around Chocolate could go online on the private portal without further checking whether it made sense.
Of course, such petitions have no place in either the state or federal parliament and the attempt also shows the questionability of such portals. But why do these portals exist if they cannot legally change anything? Is it pure humanity to give space to the voice of society? Or is there something else behind it? You can find out more about this here: Private online petition portals as data octopuses .
Do you know of any online petitions that have really made a difference politically? If yes, please write to us!
Author: Elke Haberl, mimikama
Item image:
Pixabay
Also interesting: There are lots of pages with petitions, and we are often asked to leave our digital signature on various issues.
But the platforms make their money by sharing our data. – Private online petition portals as data octopuses
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

