Workshop on Parliaments and the Reform of Political Party Legislation: First Working Group Meeting

Rabat, Morocco, 17/03/2006 - 19/03/2006.

Organizer(s): Organized in partnership with the Center for Studies and Research in Social Sciences (CERSS), Mohammed V University, Rabat..

As the launch meeting of a parliamentary working group on political party legislation reform, the workshop focused on reviewing and assessing existing political party legislation in the Arab world, recent proposals of political party reform as well as recently reformed party laws, and the role of parliaments in proposing and reforming party legislation.

Elected members of parliament from Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine representing more than 15 Arab political parties discussed with researchers and experts from the region (including experts from Egypt and Yemen) a regional study highlighting the challenges of reforming political party legislation in the light of the international experiences. Case studies on each of the participating countries were also presented by researchers and addressed issues such as party registration, party finance, the internal organization of parties, and the regulation of party membership.

Special emphasis was put on the critical role of the parliament as a forum for socio-political forces of a country to interact and build consensus on reform proposals and initiatives likely to re-shape the political landscape and promote democracy and good governance.