By Geoff Dubrow, Public Financial Management Expert On July 14th, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) released its new brief, entitled “The Role of Parliament in Public Debt Management Weathering the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond”. Here are five compelling arguments, discussed in the brief, for parliamentary involvement in public debt management. #1: GETTING THE FULL [...]
To break the current trends of shrinking democratic space and increased inequality, it is important to ensure that the emergency powers - although vital in protecting health - are not used to shrink the democratic space.
Open parliaments are the cornerstones of democracy. They represent people’s voices, pass laws and oversee governments’ actions. Opening parliaments has many benefits including effective outcomes in key policy areas, better quality legislation and most importantly improved trust relationships between citizens and the parliament. Morocco officially joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in 2018. The House [...]
Since COVID-19 first arrived in Sierra Leone, the Government has taken key measures to counter the pandemic including declaring a state of public emergency, issuing a ban on public gatherings, and travelling, and suspending all religious activities. In Parliament, the Speaker asked political party leaders to only have half of their members in the chambers, [...]
In Kenya, WFD is carrying out its Inclusive and Accountable Programme (IAP) in partnership with Senate and National Assembly. The programme aims to improve the ability of the Parliament of Kenya to effectively address corruption and promote inclusion and accountability, helping it become a more open and efficient institution that responds to citizens’ needs. Through [...]
By Victoria Hasson, WFD's Senior Parliamentary Adviser Around the world parliaments are going virtual. But what this looks like, and its implications for the institution’s democratic standing, varies as widely as the impact of COVID-19 on any given country. The dangers of going digital are easy to anticipate and beginning to surface. What is clear [...]
By Chris Levick, WFD Regional Director, Europe & Central Asia Governments around the world have introduced emergency measures to fight the coronavirus, often alongside significant financial support packages designed to cushion the economic impacts of the virus and ensure livelihoods. Within Europe we have seen some extreme examples: The Hungarian parliament – with its hefty [...]
By Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the UK House of Commons and Patron of Westminster Foundation for Democracy
How parliaments can uphold accountability for emergency powers granted to the executive
Parliaments and parliamentarians can monitor and manage global state efforts through sharing lessons of effective national legislative action. Parliaments and parliamentarians across the world can also support each other as they develop new working practices to support citizens
