PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

A parliament that is open and transparent I 63
research. Other parliaments hold specific Open Days, whether at set times
throughout the year, or to mark some special anniversary. The Parliament of
Kiribati opens itself to the whole public once a year to coincide with the date
when the Parliament first opened in October 2000. The Estonian Riigikogu
holds an Open House every 23 rd April to celebrate the day of its founding in
1919. The opportunity is open to any citizen to visit the parliament building
and go on a conducted tour. A special question time is arranged for the guests
in the parliamentary chamber with members of the Government participating
and answering questions. The parliament also holds information days in rural
areas and counties, where local people are able to question members on
their work.
This practice of taking parliament out to the people is a typical feature in
some countries. Botswana has instituted a ‘Parliament on Wheels’ in which
members of the Speaker’s and Information offices tour villages to explain the
role of parliament in society. South Africa has organised ‘democracy roadshows’
whose aim has been ‘to take Parliament to communities that do not
have ready access to Parliament so as to educate and inform people of how
laws are made and how citizens can participate in law-making processes.’
Its second chamber, the National Council of the Provinces, locates itself in a
different province for a week each year, to hold meetings with various stakeholders,
especially from rural areas. The Great State Hural of Mongolia has
established permanent ‘parliamentary advocacy centres’ in five districts of the
capital and nine provinces, with the following objectives:
■ to develop relations between members of parliament and their voters, and
between local administrators and civil society, in a systematic way;
■ to organise local training sessions, public discussions, hearings and
seminars;
■ to involve local media and elected officials in advocacy work relating to
parliamentary activity.
These outreach programmes are not just a feature of developing societies,
as the example of Sweden shows:
In 2003 Riksdag ‘branches’ were opened in three towns: Gothenburg,
Malmo and Sundsvall. Together with the municipal libraries of each
town, the Riksdag has equipped a section of the library with screens,
printed educational and information material, an IT workstation for
connecting to the Riksdag website, and the opportunity of following
web broadcasts from it. Members of the Riksdag from each region also
use the Riksdag ‘branches’ to meet voters and hold debates.