Fair, Truthful, Transparent & Accountability Election Transparency, more generally, implies openness, communication, and accountability. etc.
In politics, transparency is used as a means of holding public officials accountable and fighting corruption. When a government's meetings are open to the press and the public, its budgets may be reviewed by anyone, and its laws and decisions are open to discussion, it is seen as transparent, and there is less opportunity for the authorities to abuse the system for their own interests. Transparenc
y is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. To me, government transparency is reducing the gaps between what government "designs", and the "reality" of which it is. It provides the public information on the "evaluation" and "measurement" - which in turns may then provide accountability for public servants. I see it as though there are multiple types of transparencies – publications that are produced, the transactions that take place, reporting these things to the public and/or other government officials, providing a sense of openess (details on the performance), as well as providing a sense of accountability (the performance information - reward or punishment). Within this “government transparency” there is of course, lots of data - financial, procurement, workflow (activities and resources), and registration to record the particular details with the public sector. Everything recorded, and disseminated to the public via news media outlets, government websites and reports, etc. I think of transparency as allowing citizens to "see through" the workings of government. In this way they can investigate whether or not their leaders and organizations have met their expectations. The public is empowered by being brought into governments inner circles. Of course, transparency means that something can be seen through. When we talk about transparency in government, we mean that citizens must be able to "see through" its workings, to know exactly what goes on when public officials transact public business. Government that is not transparent is more prone to corruption and undue influence because there is no public oversight of decision making. To protect transparency in government, every state in the United States has some variety of law mandating that all government business be conducted in open meetings to which the public has access. Transparency is a way of protecting fairness and ensuring the common good. When citizens know what their government is up to, they have a better chance of ensuring that decisions treat everyone equally and protect the common conditions that are important to everyone's welfare.
