Amman: The Audit Bureau of Jordan (ABJ) on Sunday held a workshop, entitled "Auditing Political Party Financing by Higher Audit Institutions," in cooperation with the SIGMA Initiative of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) remotely. Speaking at the event, the ABJ's Chairman, Dr. Radi Hamadin, stressed the "vital" role of the higher auditing institutions in monitoring funding of political parties. Hamadin added that transparency in party financing has become an "urgent" necessity with the increasing interest in party-based participation as a pillar of political life, affirming these institutions' partiality in this process. Hamadin stated that the bureau is making progress, in accordance with the Royal directives on the necessity of the Kingdom's parallel political, economic and administrative modernization. On the ABJ's role in this process, he noted the bureau participates in the national committee, headed by the Independent Election Commission (IEC), aimed to monitor expens es of party and local lists and control their spending processes. Hamadin said the society's increasing confidence in the role of oversight bodies requires mechanism development, in accordance with the "best" international standards and practices to ensure "equal" opportunities for all voters to form parliamentary councils that enjoy the "highest" levels of integrity and independence. During the workshop, Alastair Swarbrick, SIGMA Senior Policy Advisor presented a working paper that addressed the OECD initiative's experience in party financing and the role of higher auditing bodies in monitoring funding of electoral campaigns. The event also featured presentations on the experiences of the Balkan countries, SIGMA recommendations, and best practices in this context, according to a ABJ statement. Source: Jordan News Agency