Cell 2aiii · GWG Proposal
Make the Ward Councillor Democracy's Foundational Office
GREEN WHITE GO MANIFESTO — 2026.10.01 · CANONICAL THREE-SENTENCE UNIT
Every Ward directly elects one full-time Councillor for five years and no more than two terms; under a second-term rule called Performance-Based Succession (PBS), a first-term Councillor seeking the second and final term stays off the ballot and remains in office unless a challenger wins a higher share than the existing benchmark, while open seats use ordinary elections.
If two or more sitting Councillors would otherwise inherit one successor Ward, that Ward holds an ordinary open election at the next lawful August election and sets a fresh benchmark — term limits follow the person; PBS benchmarks follow the electorate — while a verified petition from 10% of active registered voters in the Ward triggers a recall challenge at the next lawful August election, subject to the published cutoff, using the same incumbent-off-ballot benchmark rule, with any successful challenger serving the remainder of the term.
There is no separate recall referendum, no second replacement election and no caretaker, keeping the Councillor directly answerable to the Ward without creating an unelected gap in representation.
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Available · v0.2 · 2026-10-01
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There is no separate recall referendum, no second replacement election and no caretaker, keeping the Councillor directly answerable to the Ward without creating an unelected gap in representation.
Evidence and limits
Evidence for individual components does not establish that the complete GWG design will work.
The proposal remains distinct from current law and from evidence for individual components.
Evidence notes for this pillarRelated Hard Questions
Green White Go changes which offices citizens elect directly. It retains direct voting close to the citizen, but replaces direct presidential election with institutional selection. Citizens vote directly for the three-person electoral team serving their Polling Unit. Citizens vote directly for their volunteer Neighbourhood Safety Representative. Citizens vote directly for their Ward Councillor.
And a verified petition from 10 per cent of active registered voters can force a Ward Councillor into a PBS Recall Challenge Election at the next lawful August election date. Higher institutions then select qualified people through defined external applicant pools. A Councillor cannot vote themselves upward into Director or Federal Representative. A Director cannot vote themselves upward into Zonal Chief Executive.
The President does not receive a separate nationwide popular mandate. The design deliberately places the deepest direct electoral roots close to the citizen and makes higher power pass through several institutions before it can be exercised. That is a different democratic model. It is not the elimination of voting.
For a first-term Councillor seeking a second and final term, challengers compete against the existing benchmark. The incumbent stays off the ballot. If none beats it, the Councillor remains; if one or more do, the highest qualifying challenger takes the seat. Councillors have five-year terms and a two-term maximum. Open seats use ordinary elections.
IMPLEMENTATION DETAIL
The electoral policy and implementing law must specify the benchmark formula, denominator, ties and rounding; this answer does not invent them.
No. A verified petition by 10% of active registered voters in the Ward triggers a PBS Recall Challenge at the next lawful August election, subject to the published cutoff. The incumbent is off the ballot. If no challenger beats the benchmark, the Councillor remains; otherwise the highest qualifying challenger serves the remaining term. There is no separate recall referendum or second replacement election.
IMPLEMENTATION DETAIL
Petition validation and other operating mechanics belong to electoral policy and implementing law.