Participation and E-Democracy

and these values can be strengthened by e-governance. OECD countries have made considerable progress in making the information accessible through e-governance in the public sector as a result of the presence of a vigilant media, and public pressure. The developing countries lag behind with regard to making the information available for the public and some even try to suppress the availability of information. The problem of transparency is further complicated by a large number of uneducated and poor people in developing countries. Internet use is a luxury when the chief concerns are food and shelter. However, the important challenge for the poorest developing countries is to make the Internet accessible to a large number of people. If the governments in the developing countries can supply computers in public places, this will improve public accessibility. However, the issue of education and computer literacy cannot be solved overnight. Still, even in poor developing countries, there are a large number of people who can access the internet. Many of the services available to people in need can be made accessible to the public, for example, passport, higher education, etc. Public administrators must ensure accountability in e-governance and it must not lead to the loss of responsibility. With proper care, e-governance can facilitate improved opportunities to ensure accountability. As a result of e-governance, people can instantly contact the government about an issue of concern. Public officials can be put under pressure to defend all the actions and decisions. An accountable and responsible government is crucial for establishing democracy. In most countries, the bureaucrats are not elected, and there is no direct way to ensure accountability. E-governance provides an opportunity for the public to ensure accountability in bureaucracy by continuous feedback. However, the governments have the responsibility to provide the means of accountability by making the e-technology to provide the feedback.

partIcIpatIon and e-democracy Participation in public policies is an essential prerequisite for democracy. There is a wider opportunity for participation by the public in government affairs as a result of the increased use of the internet and communication technology. E-governance provides the tool for people to be involved and to express their concerns. E-governance facilitates participation through online debates and plebiscites (Teicher et al. 2002). Zimmerman (1986) claims that participation by the people on the Internet will lead to e-democracy. Public administrators face the constant challenge of keeping

their agencies transparent and accessible to the public. Heeks (2001) emphasizes that the concept of e-governance from the point of democracy; and points out that it must be considered from three different viewpoints: e-administration; e-citizen and e-service; and e-society. Therefore, e-governance should be considered from the point of Internet–government, government–democracy, and democracy–communication. Calista and Melitski (2007) remark that e-governance facilitates democracy by promoting participation and transparency. The OECD (2017) emphasizes digital technologies for open, participatory and innovative government. Scholl (2013) mentioned the emergence of a new model of participation as a result of the ICT.

As a concept, “e-governance can be perceived to be contextually inclusive of electronic democracy, e-democracy, and “electronic government” (Okot-Uma 2001, p. 1). In this context, “e-democracy” involves processes and structures, including all forms of electronic communication between government and the citizen, such as information, voting, polling, or discussion enabling citizens to participate in the government’s policymaking (Gronlund 2001). More importantly, e-democracy involves “electronic engagement,” engaging the public in the policy process via the Internet and communication technologies, and “electronic consultation,” through participation of the citizens and the interest groups; and “electronic controllership,” by managing the cost, performance, and services of an organization electronically (Riley 2003).

Saxena (2005) emphasizes the role of e-governance in enhancing the role of government, advancing open expression, human dignity, and autonomy, supporting economic development, and encouraging the fair and efficient delivery of services. Dawes (2009, p. S86), for example, defines, e-governance “comprises the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support public services, government administration, democratic processes, and relationships among citizens, civil society, the private sector, and the state.” Bannister and Connolly (2012, p. 11) define e-governance as the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in government in ways that either: (1) alter governance structures or processes in ways, which are not possible without ICT; (2) create new governance structures or processes, which are impractical without ICT; or (3) establish theoretical ideas or issues in normative governance. The first two of these relate to structural governance; the third relates to normative governance.

However, the crucial challenge is how to allow the people to participate genuinely in the policy process. D’Agostino et al. assert that “as municipal websites progress beyond the e-government function, the challenges of information technologies are accentuated. The questions of how to involve citizens, the willingness to involve citizens, as well as the role of citizens in the decision-making process are unresolved. These questions go beyond the automaton of providing services to citizens electronically” (D’Agostino et al. 2011, p. 3). E-governance has established a new type of linkage between the people and the government. There is an ever-increasing demand for information among the public, meaning that government websites have become a big library and shopping mall for the people (Clayton and Streib 2005). People who contact the government may want a personal response with face-to-face interaction. Without any personal response, people will become frustrated and would never contact the government to voice their opinion or receive a service. So, it is essential for the government to provide the e-technology to respond to the request of the individuals.

In order to encourage greater public participation, governments must take into account the opinion of the people in order to improve their services. Although the private sector has now made considerable progress in soliciting the opinion of the people to improve services, the public sector lags behind in this respect. Therefore, the public sector can create the incentives for peoples’ participation for the purpose of improving the services. The Internet provides an avenue for direct democracy in public policy making and implementation. E-governance enables the government to get the feedback from the public within a very short span of time. For e-democracy to work, the governments must ensure that the feedback is genuine and secure. The decisions must reflect the opinion of the people.

While governments are making progress in terms of participation through the spread of e-voting, there are constant threats of interference by hackers from foreign countries. At present, for example, there are allegations of Russian involvement in the US presidential election of 2016. A free and fair election is a vital element of democracy, the compromising of the election system as a result of the interference of adversaries, will damage its fabric. According to Roy (2005, p. 44), “a more intriguing and potentially consequential challenge of e-democracy lies in its reliance on a digital architecture – the Internet, that itself is inherently transnational in scope. Not only is the architecture extended and rooted across a range of