> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.shirikia.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Governance
> Create proposals, vote, and shape the future of Shirikia and its sub-DAOs.
Governance is how decisions are made on Shirikia. Whether it is the main **Shirikia DAO** or an individual **Wechezaji Sacco**, the governance process works the same way — proposals are created, members vote, and the outcome is executed on-chain. Every vote is transparent and recorded on the blockchain.
Governance requires a **connected wallet** with the relevant governance tokens on the Base network.
## Where governance applies
| Level | What it covers | Who participates |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Shirikia DAO** | Platform-wide decisions that affect the entire Shirikia ecosystem | Anyone holding Shirikia governance tokens |
| **Wechezaji Saccos** | Decisions specific to an individual Sacco/Chama | Members of that Sacco who hold its governance token |
The process is identical at both levels. The only difference is the scope — Shirikia governance affects the whole platform, while Sacco governance affects just that group.
## How governance works
A token holder with enough voting power submits a proposal describing a decision or change.
A waiting period begins so members can read and discuss the proposal before voting opens.
All token holders who have delegated their voting power can cast their vote — **For**, **Against**, or **Abstain**.
When the voting period ends, the result is determined. If enough people voted (quorum) and the majority voted **For**, the proposal passes.
Passed proposals are queued for a short safety period and then executed automatically on-chain.
## Delegate your voting power
Before you can vote, you need to **delegate** your voting power. This is a one-time setup step.
**What is delegation?** Delegation is how you activate your voting power. Even though you hold tokens, the system does not count them until you tell it who should vote with them. You can either:
* **Delegate to yourself** — you vote directly using your own tokens
* **Delegate to someone else** — you trust another person to vote on your behalf
**How to delegate:**
1. Go to the **Governance** page (for Shirikia DAO) or your Sacco's **Governance** section (for Wechezaji).
2. Click **Delegate**.
3. Choose **yourself** or enter another person's wallet address.
4. Confirm the transaction in your wallet.
**Why does my voting power show 0?** If you check your voting power before delegating, it will return **0** — even if you hold tokens. This is by design. The system only recognizes voting power that has been explicitly delegated. Once you delegate (even to yourself), your full token balance is reflected as voting power. You only need to do this once.
## Create a proposal
Any token holder who meets the **proposal threshold** (the minimum amount of **delegated tokens** required) can create a proposal. Here is what you need to fill in:
### Proposal fields
| Field | What it means |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Description** | A clear, human-readable explanation of what you are proposing and why. This is what other members will read before deciding how to vote. Be specific — explain the problem, your proposed solution, and what changes if the proposal passes. |
| **Target contract** | The smart contract address that the proposal will interact with if it passes. For example, the treasury contract if you are proposing to send funds somewhere. |
| **Value** | The amount of ETH (if any) to send along with the action. For most proposals this is **0** unless you are transferring ETH. |
| **Calldata** | The specific action to execute on the target contract. This is the technical instruction that gets carried out on-chain. The app helps you build this — for example, if you are proposing a token transfer, you select the recipient and amount and the app generates the calldata for you. |
**In simple terms:** the **description** is *what* you want to do and *why*. The **target**, **value**, and **calldata** together define *how* it gets done on-chain. The app guides you through building these fields — you do not need to write technical code yourself.
### How to create a proposal
1. Go to the **Governance** page and click **Create Proposal**.
2. Write a clear **description** of your proposal.
3. Set the **target contract**, **value**, and **action** (the app helps you build this).
4. Submit the proposal and confirm the transaction in your wallet.
After submission, the proposal enters the **Pending** stage and waits for the voting delay to pass before voting opens.
When you open the **Create Proposal** form for the first time, the **targets**, **values**, and **calldata** sections are empty. This is normal — you add actions step by step, and the app shows you exactly what will be executed when the proposal passes.
## Vote on a proposal
1. Go to the **Governance** page and browse active proposals.
2. Read the proposal description to understand what is being proposed.
3. Click **Vote** and choose your position:
* **For** — you support the proposal
* **Against** — you oppose the proposal
* **Abstain** — you want to be counted for quorum but take no side
4. Optionally, add a **reason** explaining your vote.
5. Confirm the transaction in your wallet.
## Proposal lifecycle
Every proposal goes through the same stages:
| Stage | What happens |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pending** | The proposal has been created and is waiting for the voting delay to pass |
| **Active** | Voting is open — cast your vote now |
| **Defeated** | The proposal did not get enough support or did not reach quorum |
| **Succeeded** | The proposal passed and is ready to be queued for execution |
| **Queued** | The proposal is in a safety waiting period before execution |
| **Executed** | The proposal has been carried out on-chain |
| **Expired** | The proposal was not executed in time after being queued |
| **Canceled** | The proposal was withdrawn before completion |
## Check your voting power
On the Governance page you can see:
* **Your token balance** — how many governance tokens you hold
* **Your voting power** — your current delegated voting power (the amount of tokens you or someone else has delegated to your address)
* **Active proposals** — what is currently up for a vote
* **Past proposals** — the history of all proposals and their outcomes
* **Treasury balance** — the funds held by the DAO's treasury (for Wechezaji Saccos)
Your voting power is also visible on your Shirikia dashboard, so you can always see how many tokens are currently counting toward your votes.
Governance tokens in Shirikia and its sub-DAOs exist **solely for governance**. They are meant for voting and decision-making, not as a currency. By default they do not have real-world purchasing power because they are not given liquidity. If you are interested in setting up liquidity for a token, email **[admin@shirikia.com](mailto:admin@shirikia.com)** to discuss possible arrangements.