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Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD)’s Inclusive and Accountable Politics programme achieved a major success this year, helping devise a strategic plan for the 15th National Assembly of Pakistan which sets out the ways in which Pakistan’s legislature will improve its effectiveness, building on the successes and learning from the shortcoming of previous attempts.
Our planet needs democracy. To be exact, it needs environmental democracy. That is why Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is launching a new environmental democracy initiative to support the mutually dependent goals of strong democracies and protecting our planet.
The recent announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson of plans to merge the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) into the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will undoubtedly impact the UK’s approach to development assistance for many years to come.
In a few short months, we will witness the debut of the newly merged Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the budgetary impact of the economic recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the end of the transition following the departure of the UK from the European Union. It is a moment at which the UK can choose to take a leadership position – and do development democratically.
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.
Three areas are important for the political process and public discourse around elections: election campaigns; electoral observation; and the information landscape.
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.
This new website provides a greater scope for two-way communications practices, as it offers several remote services such as requesting visits to the parliamentary building library, getting media accreditations, and submitting internship applications.
To foster LGBT+ inclusive democracies, parliamentarians need to listen to LGBT+ voices, as well as access to more and better information. WFD is focusing on addressing these issues.
More than 500 political and civil leaders, Nobel Laureates, and organisations have signed an open letter to defend democracy. The letter warns that our freedoms are threatened by governments using the COVID-19 crisis to tighten their grip on power.
WFD and the Ministry of Information and Communication in Sierra Leone supported the Parliament in holding its first virtual State opening in May 2020.
WFD joined a National Conference in Sierra Leone focused on discussing strategies that will urge all political parties and the government to tone down unhelpful rhetoric, utterances, and actions.
As governments decide to postpone elections or alter electoral processes because of COVID-19, it is crucial that they have a transparent debate about doing so.
A majority of young East Africans who responded to a survey on how COVID-19 has impacted their lives would like to be involved in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in East Africa.
WFD Uganda has been working with accountability champions in the Parliament of Uganda who can advance more meaningful participation of young people in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
