Abstract

In recent years, information and communication technologies have become a source for democratic innovations, for example, the submission of electronic petitions by citizens allows drawing the attention of the authorities to the problem issues in society. These tools of e-democracy allow us to improve defined forms of traditional democracy and to maintain a systematic dialogue between the authorities and society. Electronic petition is one of the most effective tools of e-democracy, because other electronic discussion platforms do not provide such fast and reliable results. Petitions allow us to express dissatisfaction with the law passed or proposed by parliament, administrative decisions of the executive power or absence of urgent actions; express views on the results of a separate state policy. The uniqueness of petitions lies in the fact that the initiative takes place from the «bottom» of civil society to the «up» of authorities, government should only provide a platform for this. The additional benefits of using electronic petitions are the stimulation of increased interest in various state issues; publicity of their consideration, which creates a sense of solidarity in the community during the execution of a civil obligation. This tool extends the powers of citizens, further legitimizes actions of state authorities by explaining the impact of government policy on public life, maintaining close interaction between citizens and elected officials, and increasing responsibility and accountability of the government. The main purpose of the study is to analyze tool of electronic petitions, to determine its efficiency and applicability, investigate general factors influencing on motivation of signing petitions. Article deals with the general characteristics of electronic petitions, their typology; also the influence of submitted electronic petitions on the state policy is determined; defined the conditions and criteria for a successful electronic petition and motivation of citizens to use the electronic petition tool.