Late monk and nonviolent revolutionary Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero campaigning for the 19th amendment outside the Sri Lankan parliament in 2015. Credit: Vikalpa | Groundviews | Maatram | CPA (CC BY 2.0)Underneath their varying institutional frameworks and rules of procedure, we are convinced that what really determines whether a parliament is a living entity or a rubber stamp is the role parties play inside it. It is why Westminster Foundation for Democracy is so committed to helping parties become more effective actors inside parliaments, in any way we can.
WFD’s 'parties in parliament' programmes use three different methodologies, depending on what is best-suited for the local context: sister party, multi-party, and hybrid models.
What really determines whether a parliament is a living entity or a rubber stamp is the role parties play inside it.
WFD's view is that the sister-party work we foster is invaluable. WFD was established in 1992 as an arms-length public body tasked with facilitating relationship-building between UK political parties and their counterparts in Eastern Europe. For over 20 years the UK parties, through WFD, have developed hundreds of sister-party relationships around the globe. Through sister-party relationships, built on trust and common ideology, we can have frank discussions with counterparts on how they undertake parliamentary business in a way which encourages the democratic political culture that we are keen on—and works to the parties' benefit. This is the approach we are taking in Ghana, where the Conservative and Labour Parties are partnering with their sister parties to enhance their performance in parliament.
