New Handbook for Parliaments in Election Planning
‘Transitioning to new Parliaments’: New CPA toolkit provides support to Parliaments for election planning
Elections are a common feature of democratic Parliaments across the globe. Their frequency and impact will vary, depending on constitutional arrangements and political circumstances, but for all parliamentary administrations, large and small, across the Commonwealth and the wider world, elections represent a regular challenge. Parliaments, and in particular parliamentary administrative teams, must be ready to welcome new and returning Members of Parliament following each election and to support them in carrying out their parliamentary functions.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) has launched a new Handbook for Parliaments in Election Planning to assist Legislatures in planning for an election and the intake of Members of Parliament that follows.
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Introducing the CPA toolkit, the CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg, said:
“One of the greatest challenges for a Parliament is managing the transition from one Parliament to the next following a General Election. For over twenty-five years, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association has been at the forefront of supporting Parliaments to train thousands of newly elected Members of Parliament as part of its CPA Post-Election Seminars.
This new Handbook has been developed to broaden and augment that post-Election support, by supporting the institution of Parliament to effectively transition from one Parliament to another. In particular, this Handbook looks how Parliaments should plan for elections, how they should coordinate their activities, how they should provide the right information at the right time to new Members, and how to evaluate if the transition period was successful or not.”
This latest resource has been developed for the benefit of the CPA’s member Branches, but also the wider community of Parliaments outside of the Commonwealth.
The publication draws upon contemporary research by handbook author Philippa Helme, established best practices and relevant case studies/examples from more than 30 Commonwealth jurisdictions, including: Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Cyprus, Western Cape, New Zealand, Alberta, Kiribati, Saint Lucia, Guernsey, Scotland, Nigeria, Kenya, Australia, Tanzania, South Africa, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Jersey, Manitoba, Victoria, Canada, Nova Scotia, Sierra Leone, India, Queensland, New South Wales, Belize and Saskatchewan.
Handbook author Philippa Helme explains below how election planning is vital for Parliaments.