E-Democracy in Ukraine: condition and development taking into account European experience

Abstract

The work analyzes the mechanism of legal support of e-democracy development in Ukraine and European Union in a part of formation and implementation of its tools. A position of central executive authorities in Ukraine in the context of e-democracy development is considered. The Ukrainian legislative base of formation and realization of e-democracy tools have been studied, and ones, considered priority in the aspect of their legal support and implementation level, have been separated. These e-democracy tools in Ukraine include: e-consulting, e-petitions, e-appeals, participation budgets (public budgets). The analysis of e-democracy tools, offered and implemented in the EU countries allowed to establish a series of them, needed additional attention from both state authorities of Ukraine and Ukrainian publicity. These tools include: e-voting, e-referendum, e-plebiscites, and e-election process totally. Based on comparison analysis of using e-democracy tools in Ukraine and EU, there have been separated obstacles on the way of potential improvement of the national legal mechanism of e-democracy development as to its tools usage at the national, regional and local levels. The main ones are: imperfection of resource provision of the development legal mechanism; absence of an integral idea of the development strategy of e-democracy as an institution in the state; predominance of e-services automation development over development of tools of active involvement of citizens in participation in the public-political life of the country. Recommendations for public authorities as to improvement of the existent legal mechanism of implementation, use and development of e-democracy tools in a part of development of a series of strategic documents that must fix the priority of e-democracy development, its resource support; comprehensive support to public initiatives as to implementation and development of e-democracy and e-participation tools and so on, have been substantiated.