With Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium; Dr. Adam Bodnar, Elected Senator of the Polish Senate; Erica Gerretsen, Director at the European Commission; H.E Anders H.
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The need for physical distancing during this COVID-19 pandemic has raised the need for innovative campaign methods to be developed by election contestants because conventional campaign methods such as rallies, public meetings, etc. are prohibited in some jurisdictions. Distant and online election campaigning may be seen as restrictive to both contestants and voters alike due to physical and technological barriers that appear. To what degree is this true?
As part of the initiative on the e-Parliament strategy, specialised consultants and stakeholders recommended the Parliament of Bhutan to build a series of focussed, high-impact services which will overtime led to an adaptive and evolving e-Parliament. The primary recommendation entails a significant investment in people and a local ICT capability.
BRUSSELS – With increasing pressure on democracy globally, and the new security context in Europe, the enlargement of the European Union (EU) to new members in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans is back on the agenda of European leaders. But to maintain internal coherence and ease joint decision making, all members be it aspiring or current EU Member States, should fully embrace the rule of law.
This Discussion Paper reviews the performance of 16 lobbying registers according to 3 interlinked dimensions: (a) transparency; (b) regulatory capacity; and (c) interoperability. Under ‘transparency’, the paper examines the scope of lobbying information collected by the register in question, as well as how that information is administered and subsequently disclosed.
The 9 January election in Bhutan saw the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led by a seasoned political leader, Dasho Tshering Tobgay, returned to the government after being ousted in the 2018 elections. As part of its electoral process, Bhutan has two rounds of elections.
The European Commission adopted its Defence of Democracy Package on Tuesday, 12 December 2023. The package encompasses a directive, two recommendations and a communication aiming at shielding European Democracy from malign foreign actors and bolstering democratic resilience from within.
International IDEA’s collaborative efforts with partners such as the European Partnership for Democracy, have significantly influenced the formulation of the European Commission’s Defence of Democracy package. This success is marked by a series of impactful joint initiatives conducted throughout 2022 and 2023:
“Democracy is our most valuable asset. Our defense against extremism, dictatorship and war. Our most precious gem that shines well in the hands of the people." – H.E.
The recently concluded workshops on Media Literacy Training and Effective Communication Skills held in Paro for members of the National Council of Bhutan (NCB) and secretariat staff have ushered in promising outcomes for the nation's democratic processes.
The Honorable Members and secretarial staff of the National Council of Bhutan attended a weeklong training program aimed at improving the use of public hearings—a formal proceeding designed to receive testimony from all stakeholders—in the house proceedings to improve oversight, scrutiny, and public engagement.
Under the theme of ‘Taking Parliament to the People’, International IDEA and Bhutan’s Parliamentary Secretariat jointly hosted a three-day workshop for members and staff of the country’s parliament. Held from 20-22 May 2022, the workshop was designed to increase the use of public hearings in Bhutan’s parliamentary process.
A five-day workshop was held in October 2021 for 22 secretariat staff of the National Assembly (NA) and National Council (NC), the two parliamentary houses of Bhutan. The workshop aimed at identifying the Parliament of Bhutan’s communication needs and explore opportunities of leveraging new possibilities provided by the mainstream and social media platforms for effective parliamentary communications.
Identifying obstacles and focusing on long-term solutions to propose strategies for equal representation
The health of a democracy can be measured from the engagement of its citizenship. In Bhutan, this wisdom is well received because it is traditionally accepted that citizens have to contribute towards the welfare of the communities and the society they live in. Previously, this contribution took varied forms, including active and regulated voluntary services.
Centre-left Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) will form the third elected government of Bhutan following Lotay Tshering’s win in the 18 October parliamentary election. With the ruling People’s Democratic Party eliminated in the first of the two rounds of the election, the country voted between DNT and the Druk Phunsum Tshogpa (DPT), which governed between 2008-2013.
Two secretarial officers from the Bhutanese Parliament underwent a vigorous two-week Fellowship Programme from 20-31 August 2018 at the state parliament of Tasmania, Australia. The Fellowship Programme was part of regular fellowship programme facilitated by International IDEA since 2014 as part of strengthening institutional capacity of the Parliament of Bhutan.
International IDEA has been supporting a democratic approach to consultative, collaborative and inclusive community building in Bhutan through funding of various activities of its partner civil society organizations. On 4 July 2018, International IDEA’s support saw over 90 town committee members come together in the collaborative visioning of the future of Paro town, which is home to the country’s only international airport.