Parliaments, democracy and new technologies

Parliaments are seeking legitimacy as accountable democratic institutions in order to restore the relationship of confidence with the electorate by managing the opportunities of new technologies of information and communication in order to improve the efficiency of parliamentary affairs, interact democratically and engage citizens in the policy process. The new public service seems to be putting the democracy first: technology has made possible greater access to the policy process. ICTs are used to improve the interface between governments and the public and can contribute to the democratic process by obtaining information; engaging in deliberation; participating in decision making. ICTs can contribute to the democratic process by supporting three different types of activities: obtaining information; engaging in deliberation; participating in decision making. E-democracy enables citizen participation in the policy-making process and requires that parliamentary records have to be easily available, viewed and discussed by citizens. Internet technologies may reinvigorate the democratic process and re-engage the possibility of creating new political processes. New technologies of information and communication help to promote and strengthen the core representative institutions connecting citizens and government. ICTs should lead political institutions to sustain public trust consistently with need of democratization and openness to the citizenry if they are to survive in their current forms developing forms of direct dialogue with citizens. International organizations (IPU, UE, united Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank support the development of ICT in parliaments. The Inter-parliamentary Union proposed some guidelines for structuring websites that constitute an important way for citizens to learn about the legislature. An e-parliament, as organization where stakeholders use ICTs to perform lawmaking, representation, and oversight more effectively, is empowered to be more open, transparent and accountable through ICT encouraging people to be more engaged in public life by providing higher quality of information and greater access to documents and activities of the legislative body for the development of an inclusive information society (World Report, 2008).