Citizen e-Participation as an Important Factor for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Citizen e-participation – in times of rapid ICT advancement – is an important factor contributing to the development of contemporary democracies. The use of electronic citizen involvement tools provides numerous changes in the relationship between the citizen and public institution, especially by boosting citizen engagement in decision making. Civic participation is a key factor in determining effective and inclusive governance at the local and national levels. As many organizations have recognized, contemporary democracy needs to ensure a responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making process, emphasizing the importance of those sustainable development factors. Moreover, National Councils for Sustainable Development were once considered critical to achieving integration in decision-making and participation, two dimensions that were at the heart of the sustainable development concept. The article presents citizen e-participation as an important factor for sustainable development. The purpose is to explain theoretical and empirical meaning of citizen e-participation for sustainable development. To achieve this goal, the authors used the following research methods: critical review of the literature and quantitative data analysis (data examined come from author’s own research (2018) into use and willingness to use e-government tools by Poles). Research findings may be an important contribution to the development of civic participation and the implicit value of the process. Keywords: citizen participation, e-democracy, e-government, e-participation, Poland, sustainable development.

Postal or electronic voting? The analysis of the preferred voting methods in the context of failed electoral reform in Poland

“…In contrast, people with a higher level of education have more specific preferences and they are more open to alternative voting methods. The other studies show that among better educated people there is strong support for e-voting (Solvak and Vassil, 2016; Musiał-Karg and Kapsa, 2019b) and these people are in favor of alternative voting methods for all eligible citizens, not only for selected groups. Our survey shows the linear relationship between education and the level of support for postal-voting in its most universal form (excluding uneducated people) - the higher the education level is, the higher the support.…”

“…For years, the interest in alternative voting methods (Southwell and Burchett, 2000; Venice Commission, 2002; Norris, 2004; Funk, 2006; Krimmer and Volkamer, 2007; Alvarez et al , 2012; Zbieranek, 2013; Krasnowolski, 2015; Alomari, 2016; Hassell, 2017; Musiał-Karg, 2017; McAllister and Muller, 2018; Estonian National Electoral Committee, 2020; Musiał-Karg and Kapsa, 2019a, 2019b; Townsley and Turnbull-Dugarteb, 2019; Kassen, 2020; OSCE, 2020) has been growing, since they are considered to increase voter turnout, as well as to reduce organizational barriers to voting. Alternative voting methods attract interest of many countries which have considered to use them not only under ordinary circumstances, but also during emergency situations, as they countervail uncertainty and difficulties or inability to hold elections (Krimmer et al , 2020; James, 2020).…”

“…A wider research indicates that voting via the Internet may become an increasingly attractive method especially in extraordinary circumstances. A study of public opinions on the implementation of e-voting as an alternative way of participating in elections in Poland testifies of strong support for this option (Musiał-Karg and Kapsa, 2019a, 2019b). Also studies by Germann and Serdült (2017) have already shown that voting online has the potential to make voting more convenient than postal voting (even if the convenience of participation in election via i-voting has a very limited impact on the rise of turnout).…”

“…Such results may indicate that the oldest respondents are in favor of traditional participation in elections, which means that they are likely to prefer to cast votes in their polling stations or by other means, such as proxy voting or with the use of a mobile ballot box. The oldest group of respondents is not in favor of electronic voting either (Musiał-Karg and Kapsa, 2019b). Among all age groups, their score was the lowest in both electronic voting and other forms of e-participation.…”

Citizen Participation in Policy Decision-Making

“…This highlights the recognition of citizen involvement as a valuable element in shaping policies. Furthermore, citizen e-participation has been identified as a significant factor contributing to the development of contemporary democracies, especially in the context of rapid advancements in information and communication technologies (Musiał-Karg & Kapsa, 2019).…”