Ljubljana, November 2020; The Slovenian Parliament adopted a solution for participating and voting at National Assembly sessions which we developed within AVC Group in collaboration with our partner firm MMV. Members of the parliament and their colleagues are prevented from working at their headquarters due to the increase in coronavirus infections.

We have developed a complete solution for the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, enabling members to participate remotely, even if they are not physically present at the National Assembly. It was first used at the 47th extraordinary session on November 2nd 2020. Outside the National Assembly headquarters, members in quarantine or members who could not participate in person due to health and safety risks, could also participate in the session.

»I think this will be a historic session for parliamentarianism,« said the president of the National Assembly, Igor Zorčič, for the Večer newspaper on 28 October. The president of the National Assembly is pleased with the established system and believes it is probably the best in the world.

»It is a system that will allow members who act remotely to have in front of them on the computer the same environment that they have in our great hall. They will be able to ask to speak, participate in discussions and also vote,« explained the president, adding that remote members’ speech will be watched and listened to on two displays. Zorčič further clarified that members will also have the opportunity to raise their hand for a procedural motion, for a reply. They will also have an hour integrated with the system in the National Assembly. »When the vote is triggered, they are shown the same keys as they normally have in front of them at the tables in the hall,« said Zorčič for the Večer newspaper.

When developing the project, we pursued the goal of transferring the site of the speaker from the hall to a remote location.

Our solution for upgrading information and communication technology allows remote members the same opportunities to participate in the session as those who are physically present in the hall of the National Assembly. There is practically no delay between what is happening in the hall and the user's remote location.

The solution we developed enables business compliance in the following areas:

• Catch-the-eye procedure,
• Participation in the discussion,
• Considering the parliament watch,
• Casting of votes,
• Possibility of raising one’s hand for a procedural motion or for a reply,
• Showing the calculation of the aggregated final voting result, considering the defined voting type (simple majority, absolute majority…).

Remote users could see the picture from the chamber, track the parliament watch, see the results of the votes and the like. Like in the hall, an option to interrupt speech in the event of exceeded time, as well as an option for the president to interrupt the speech of a remote participant of the sitting was implemented.

The current source of the picture from the hall is an edited image broadcast by RTV Slovenia. However, a solution is also being developed to allow the automatic operation of the camera system in cases when RTV Slovenia will not broadcast other developments.

Participants in the hall see the image of the remote speaker on large screens in the hall and listen to the speech through the sound system.

The system is designed in such a way as to allow for possible use in inter-parliamentary events, as part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, with upgrading by selecting the language of interpretation.

You are invited to view the reference Government of the Republic of Slovenia