PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

A representative parliament I 27
Further online reading about the representation of minority
and m arginal com m unities:
European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission)
(2000). Electoral law and national minorities.
European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission)
(2005). Report on electoral rules and affirmative action for national minorities’
participation in decision-making process in European countries.
Foundation on Inter-Ethnic Relations (1999). The Lund recommendations on the
effective participation of national minorities in public life & explanatory note.
Ghai, Y (2001). Public participation and minorities. Minority Rights Group
International
Norris, P (2004). Ethnic minorities, in Electoral engineering: voting rules and
political behavior.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (2001). Guidelines to assist national minority
participation in the electoral process.
tion to be elected from candidates who are outside parliament, so as to avoid
any pressure towards favouritism in carrying out his or her duties. Most parliaments
achieve the same result by electing members with a proven track
record of impartiality, for example as committee chair or Deputy Speaker.
Typical characteristics are those exemplified in this description of a former
Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha, G.V.Mavalankar:
As Speaker of the first Lok Sabha of a new born nation, Mavalankar’s
role was not merely that of a moderator and facilitator of its proceedings
but a founding father invested with the responsibility to establish
rules, procedures, conventions and customs that suited the ethos of the
land. He accomplished all this with patience, perseverance, wisdom
and above all with a remarkable sense of history….In the application
of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the House, Shri