“Giving the silent majority a voice”
In the German state of Thuringia, a Citizens' Assembly will address the topic of ‘peace and democracy.’ Starting in March 2026, a total of 200 people in four regions of the state will engage with the topic.
The plan is for the Citizens' Assembly to work with 50 participants in each of the four regions. It will kick off in March with four regional kick-off meetings. Two in-depth workshops per region are also planned for summer 2026 and spring 2027. In summer 2027, the mini-public will conclude with a state-wide citizens' conference with all assembly members.
Objectifying debates
‘Citizens' assemblies help to objectify debates, strengthen trust in political decisions and promote cohesion in Thuringia,’ said Minister President Mario Voigt (CDU). ‘The focus is on issues of peace and diplomacy, but other topics that concern people can also be discussed,’ said the head of government. His ‘blackberry alliance’ of the CDU, BSW and SPD had agreed on the formation of citizens' assemblies in its coalition agreement.
According to the Thuringian State Chancellery, the aim is ‘to give a voice to the otherwise rather “silent majority” and to enable constructive dialogue on this topic.’ Participants would be invited to work together to develop recommendations for politics and for coexistence in municipalities, districts and regions. ‘The focus is on strengthening peace and diplomacy at all levels of our society.’
10,000 invitations
For the composition of the mini-public, 36 towns and municipalities of varying sizes from central, northern, eastern and south-western Thuringia were selected at random. In the next step, around 10,000 people will be randomly selected from these municipalities and contacted. Those contacted can register their interest in participating online or by post. The final selection of participants is to be made by mid-February 2026.
The random selection of participants is being organised on behalf of the Thuringian State Chancellery. In December 2025, a contract was awarded for the implementation, scientific support and selection of participants. The scientific support serves to record experiences so that they can also be used in the future.
Diverse composition
Data from the Thuringian State Office for Statistics will be used to select the members, who must be at least 16 years old. Place of residence, gender, age group, educational level and migration background will be taken into account to ensure a diverse composition of the assembly.