Parliaments Archives - Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD)

E-governance and digital transformation: building a bridge of trust with CSOs and parliament in Lebanon

Emily Edwards2021-07-16T14:17:21+00:00July 16th, 2021|Parliamentary, Parliaments|

Since the 2018 parliamentary elections, Lebanon’s commitment to digital transformation has ramped up. The switch to an e-government builds on a growing momentum amongst politicians and civil society activists who believe that digital transformation can increase transparency and accountability within the government. As part of its programme to Strengthen Parliamentary Practices and Accountability in Lebanon, [...]

On being an MP in a pandemic

Emily Edwards2021-06-29T17:05:15+00:00June 30th, 2021|Parliaments|

The toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on individual workers across all sectors is matched within the institutions of our democracies. Parliaments often have over 1000 elected representatives. In addition, they are supported by double and sometimes triple that number of staff. COVID adaptations were as rapid and as extensive in parliaments as they were in [...]

Post-legislative scrutiny of climate and environment legislation: Guide for parliamentary practice

Stephanie Le Lievre2021-05-19T13:44:55+00:00April 8th, 2021|Environmental democracy, Parliaments, Post-Legislative Scrutiny|

This guide for parliamentary practice outlines an approach to assessing the implementation and the impact of climate and environmental legislation at national level.

Legislative leadership in the time of COVID-19

Rosie Frost2021-01-19T13:03:39+00:00January 19th, 2021|Democracy and Governance, Parliamentary, Parliaments, Research|

Legislatures are central to modern democratic politics, holding governments to account, and scrutinising legislation in order to generate more effective public policy. Yet during moments of crisis, legislatures are often bypassed as presidents and prime ministers prioritise a rapid response. The concern that legislatures will be marginalised, with greater power concentrated in the hands of [...]

Parliaments: the missing piece?

Rosie Frost2020-12-09T10:26:17+00:00December 9th, 2020|Democracy Matters, Fragile and Conflict Affected States, Parliamentary, Parliaments|

This blog was first published by PSA Parliaments: The UK Political Studies Association Specialist Group on Parliaments. Read the full report by Professor Nina Caspersen and Dr Gyda Sindre at the University of York. Since 1992, Westminster Foundation for Democracy has supported democratic systems as they emerge out of conflict and into peace and stability. Currently, we [...]

Young parliamentarians at the heart of advancing youth interests in Nigeria

Kelvin.Kimaili2020-11-20T11:44:23+00:00November 20th, 2020|Parliamentary, Parliaments, Young People’s Leadership and Engagement|

A healthy democracy needs to include everyone in decision-making processes and structures of governance. However, in many parts of the world young people, women, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) have often been relegated to the side-lines. At WFD, we believe that there are endless possibilities and opportunities that can be realized when all people are [...]

Transitioning to peace in a pandemic

Stephanie Le Lievre2020-11-17T11:02:11+00:00November 11th, 2020|Parliaments, Political Parties, Women’s Political Leadership|

If COVID-19 hit some of the world’s ‘old democracies’ hard, how about its impact on a fledgling, transitional authority emerging from decades of violent conflict? The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in the Muslim Mindanao, a new devolved administration in the Southern Philippines, was one year into a complex transition period when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Following [...]

Financial Accountability Series

Stephanie Le Lievre2020-11-05T16:55:50+00:00November 5th, 2020|Financial oversight, Parliaments|

How governments spend taxpayers' money is too important to be left unchecked. Elected representatives, especially at a time of great pressure on state budgets, must be empowered to scrutinise and control spending decisions. To help them do this, Westminster Foundation for Democracy is launching a new series of policy briefs on parliaments and managing public [...]

Can sunset clauses live up to their promise?

Stephanie Le Lievre2020-10-26T17:47:00+00:00October 27th, 2020|Democracy and Governance, Parliaments|

COVID-19 emergency legislation is often fast-tracked, approved without much parliamentary scrutiny, expanding executive powers while limiting individual rights. Can sunset clauses provide a counterbalance by guaranteeing the temporary nature of the COVID-19 emergency legislation? Experience from anti-terrorism legislation suggests that sunset clauses may reinject democratic accountability, but only if there is a high quality and [...]

To declare an emergency or not to declare an emergency? That is not the question

Stephanie Le Lievre2020-10-08T09:21:37+00:00October 8th, 2020|#PanDemTracker, Democracy and Governance, Democracy Matters, Parliaments|

To declare an emergency or not to declare an emergency is not the question. Whether or not democracy is safeguarded during the pandemic depends on a separate set of good practices.

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