Participation Of Society & Open Parliament
Participation of society and Open Parliament afford those who are affected by a decision to be involved in the decision-making process. Corruption diminishes in direct proportion to public demand for integrity. There are a number of well-accepted practices that support the participation of society in the fight against corruption and effective oversight of government, including Access to Information legislation and administrative and Parliamentary committee practices – open meetings, televised hearings, and inviting witnesses.
Participation of society and Open Parliament are closely aligned with the way parliament governing itself. Within these recent years, a significant focus on public engagement in the parliament has increased. Thus it requires parliament to be open, transparent, and accountable to society. Anti-corruption actions can also be centered in the parliament as the center of the policy-making process by bringing more efforts towards Open Parliament.
Recently, upon creating a unique multilateral initiative through the Open Government Partnership, countries are beginning to focus on the global regime of openness to nurture and shape better policy-making and its output. Parliament, as a key institution in state governance, is also part of the focus. In addition, during the World e-Parliament 2012 in Rome, Italy, Declaration on Parliamentary Openness was adopted.
Parliament can work to promote openness in several ways. Parliament can be part of the national initiative in promoting an openness regime or can take its pathway towards developing an Open Parliament Action Plan, reforming itself for better inclusiveness, transparency, accountability, and openness.
As such, there are several main mechanisms for parliamentarians to help increase public demand:
- elections and political parties
- within the parliament itself
- the media
- civil society organizations
The impact and effectiveness of each of these mechanisms on the executive branch’s actions, the way parliament promotes openness, and the civil society individuals and organizations that participate in corruption can be very different in different regions of the world.
Participation of Society Global Task Force
The Participation of Society and Open Parliament Global Task Force (GTF-PoSOP) highlights the importance of parliamentarians engaging their constituents and working collaboratively with civil society to raise awareness of corruption issues, promote openness, and lobby for legislative and administrative changes aimed at combating corruption. It focuses on the role of parliamentarians as the people’s representatives in ensuring that the people’s voice is heard by the government and reflected in appropriate anti-corruption legislation. The GTF also strengthens civil society engagement in promoting the open parliament and the advantages of incorporating the technical expertise of civil society organizations in formulating policy and legislation.
The GTF-PoSOP engages and motivates GOPAC regional and national chapters and parliamentarians by sharing experiences and best practices and promoting practical tools and techniques for public engagement on anti-corruption issues. It helps different parliamentary systems develop appropriate legislation to promote transparency, openness, accountability, access to information, and civil rights protection for those who take a stand against corruption.
- GTF-PoSOP Members
Mr. Rodrigo Herrera Bravo
Argentina (Chair) Hon. Mr. Mardani Ali Sera
Indonesia Mr. Mikaele Leawere
Fiji