A new petition website is aiming to give people from Guernsey a voice, while minimising the chances of people from outside the island skewing figures.
Voiced.gg is “designed to give islanders a stronger voice in local issues”, using local mobile phone numbers to verify participants are from Guernsey.
Organisers told Express other places have similar platforms, but “if we waited for the States to build one, we’d all die disappointed!”
A spokesperson said: “Both the UK and Jersey run official petition systems where enough signatures guarantee a government response.
“Guernsey gives its residents no equivalent – there is no official way to petition the States and be answered. So we built one.”
Unlike many public sector IT projects, Voiced.gg was inexpensive to build – at about £300 – and appears to be relatively bug-free – although Express has not done extensive testing.
Organisers have set up a Patreon to raise money for the running costs.
The day democracy dies
The spokesperson said: “Open debate is one of the foundations of Western society.
“Free speech and public discourse are a big part of what led to our success.”
“The day that ends is the day democracy begins to die.
The site would help to bring back “some much-needed transparency and accountability”, the spokesperson said.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the first petition on the site relates to GST – specifically calling for a ‘sursis’ – or delaying motion.
