Krišjānis Kariņš videoconference Photo: Cabinet of Ministers

Okategoriserade Latvia’s e-parliament does it from a distance

The Covid-19 pandemic created the need to find a new way for 100 Latvian MP’s to debate and pass laws without sitting side-by-side in their historical parliamentary hall. A new e-system now enables Latvian MP’s to perform their legislative functions from anywhere they have an Internet connection.

Published on balticworlds.com on May 28, 2020

 

If necessity is the mother of invention, the Latvian parliament (Saeima) just gave birth to a whole new way of doing its parliamentary business. The Covid-19 pandemic created the need to find a new way for 100 Latvian MP’s to debate and pass laws without sitting side-by-side in their historical parliamentary hall. An enterprising Latvian IT start-up designed one, beat out several competitors with the best price and design, and it was put into use today. It worked.

I’m not sure if this is the first in the world nor does it matter. We’re not competing with other parliaments, just with a virus. Where there is a will – and a clever set of algorithms – there is always a way.

Until now, according to Latvian law, new laws must be debated, amended, and passed in several readings in the main hall of the parliament building in Riga. Each MP must register his or her presence on a panel in front of their assigned seat. Laws are presented, explained, and debated from the podium, and every vote must be recorded on that personalized panel.

The new e-system enables Latvian MP’s to perform their legislative functions from anywhere they have an Internet connection. It uses an app that recreates the parliamentary system on a PC screen. Each MP logs in with an e-signature that is embedded on a chip in their personal digital ID card. This is the same EU-recognized ID that enables citizens to travel within the EU and confirm their identity on official documents. The screen recreates and displays all the information an MP needs to participate in the parliamentary process. You have immediate access to the full agenda, a list of participants, and a visual image of whomever is speaking. An MP can ask to speak on any amendment or law. When it’s time to vote, you simply press one of three buttons displayed on the screen: For, Against, Abstain. The complete proceedings can be viewed by the public on-line on the Saeima web page.

The system still has glitches that are being addressed as we try it out. And of course there are always opposition MP’s who utilize their right to oppose and question the legality of any new procedure. Latvia has its share. Several MP’s protested the procedure claiming it was unconstitutional and refused to participate. But over 90 MP’s inserted their ID cards, registered their presence and actively debated and voted on over 70 amendments to a new law on territorial reform.

Latvia’s parliamentary procedure derives from a constitution that was first created in 1922 and while the constitution and procedures have been amended over the years, it has never adapted to the digital age. Until now.

But laws and constitutions are created by people, and can be changed by people just as readily. Latvia’s President, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court and other legal authorities gave their blessing to the system that was created jointly by the Saeima’s Presidium, the parliament’s administrative staff, and the IT company “Possible Security”. It was deemed proper, legal, and constitutional.

Some lawyers make a living opposing changes and others work just as hard to defend them, so if the opposition MP complaints reach Latvia’s constitutional court, they will be resolved there. By judges.

Ironically, the new e-parliamentary system is being introduced at a time when distancing restrictions are being gradually eased and if the pandemic passes, it won’t be needed. As we saw today, legislating from a distance can be practical, functional, and legal, but it does not replace the people-to-people contact that is such a big part of the multi-party political process. We will return to it as soon as conditions allow.

And yet, it can still prove useful. If special parliamentary sittings are required during the summer recess, the new system could be adapted to allow MP’s to debate and vote from any location. Not all MP’s live in Riga, and many of those who do prefer to spend their summers elsewhere, more often in country homes in a forest by a Latvian lake, river or the shores of the Baltic sea. If special sessions are needed in the summer, the MP’s have to return to Riga. Once international travel restrictions are lifted, MP’s will resume their participation in EU, NATO, and other parliamentary assemblies around the world. In the past, if they were out of country, they were excluded from the in-house voting procedures in Riga. The new system could allow them to participate and vote from anywhere.

This will require a further adaptation of Latvian parliamentary procedures to enable this interaction between physical and virtual participation. But that should not be a problem. Latvia’s legendary poet Rainis explained it a long time ago: “He who adapts, survives.” Latvia is adapting in a way that would make Rainis proud.

 

Ojars Eriks Kalnins