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Right before the pandemic closed the airways, in February this year, I had the privilege of speaking at an event hosted by the House of Representatives to discuss the work of their Petitions Committee. The event was attended by the Speaker, parliamentarians and a wide range of civil society organisations and diplomatic agencies eager to participate in discussions on how the Parliament of Morocco can proceduralise public petitions effectively.
Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and Kaleidoscope Trust are excited to announce the launch of a new programme that will focus on fighting discrimination against women and girls, LGBT+ people and other intersectionally disadvantaged groups. The programme will be implemented in 13 Commonwealth countries.
WFD is working to support women who are at the forefront of the fight for inclusive and accountable democracy in Sudan by helping to ensure that they are as well-equipped as possible to play an active role in formal Sudanese politics.
WFD is supporting the Parliament of Kenya to become a more open, efficient, and responsive democratic institution by implementing the Inclusive and Accountable Politics programme (IAP).
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 evidence-based review practice.
From nurturing the next generation of Ghanaian leaders, to developing an Inter-Departmental Research and Information group (IDRIG) in the Parliament of Ghana, WFD held an event in Ghana in October 2020 to mark the successful completion of programmes in the country.
How do journalists and citizens find out about these real-world impacts of government’s policy responses to COVID-19? How can we question government for the decisions they make that are impacting us all, particularly our most vulnerable? One answer is: parliamentary committees. These bodies have emerged as the forum of choice when it comes to providing parliamentary oversight of COVID-19 executive action, particularly in Westminster-inspired parliaments in Australia, New Zealand (NZ) and the UK.
WFD’s CEO, Anthony Smith, spoke to Devex about putting democracy at the heart of the UK’s international strategy. He argued that democracy and human rights are a critically important part of the UK’s values and directly relevant to our national interests and outlined a three-pronged strategy for the UK’s democratic strengthening work.
The new European Commission Country Report on North Macedonia 2020 highlights two achievements which were supported by WFD, including the adoption of the Declaration for Active Political Participation of Persons with Disabilities.
The COVID-19 pandemic has left many governments feeling torn between focusing on addressing the virus and ensuring a recovery on the one hand and addressing the climate emergency on the other. WFD believes that, if they are transparent and inclusive, democracies can do both.
In response to COVID-19, countries have applied different legislative models to introduce emergency measures. Some countries declared a state of emergency. Others decided to rely on existing legislation to face the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite common assumptions, neither is ‘better’ or ‘worse’ for democracy and both approaches have carried considerable risks for parliamentary accountability. To declare an emergency or not to declare an emergency is not the question. Whether or not democracy is safeguarded depends on a separate set of good practices.
Just under half of 33 countries do not have a sunset clause in their emergency COVID-19 legislation, WFD’s Pandemic Democracy Tracker shows.
The Parliamentary Budget Office in North Macedonia established with the support of WFD by the end of 2019 organised its first presentation to the members of parliament. The PBO presented its work and their first analysis оn the latest macroeconomic indicators to the newly established Parliament in the country.
The UK ambition to defend and strengthen open societies and open economies around the world is a laudable policy objective that must be tethered to an operating model that creates the conditions for these societies and economies to emerge and thrive. This model should be built on the premise of doing development democratically.
A strong, healthy democracy needs constant care and attention, even in good times. During a crisis we need to be even more vigilant. The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt democracy, amid a long-term trend of democratic decline.
