1/5: While there have been previous examples at national level of emergency measures combined with disruption of parliamentary business (eg Ebola), the #COVID-19 pandemic has made this a global phenomenon. @nandi_naira @ClaireProvost @namlyd https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/alarm-two-billion-people-have-parliaments-suspended-or-limited-covid-19/">https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/a...

2/5: Virtually all of the governments in WFD’s partner countries have introduced emergency measures while the parliaments are either suspended or operating remotely.

3/5: Globally there are significant risks that the vulnerable will suffer disproportionately, the world’s poorest economies will reach unsustainable levels of debt, rights will be permanently eroded & that power will end up more concentrated in fewer hands https://www.wfd.org/2020/03/31/shoring-up-democracy-during-the-pandemic-and-beyond/">https://www.wfd.org/2020/03/3...

4/5: But the scale of the crisis is also an opportunity. There will be an intense focus on the effectiveness of government responses and we need to work with the politicians, citizens and press in those countries to build an expectation of equity and accountability. @EPDeu

5/5: Parliamentary practice can innovate and the threats to privacy should be addressed head on to promote transparency in the use of surveillance for public health. My colleague @VictoriaHasson has written a brand new blog about this today: https://www.wfd.org/2020/04/09/parliaments-are-needed-to-keep-democracies-alive-so-how-can-we-support-them/">https://www.wfd.org/2020/04/0...