Part Two

Follow-up Workshop One: POLITICAL PARTIES IN PARLIAMENT

9.30-11.00         How Parliament Works

§      The role of parties in opposition and government

§      The rights and responsibilities of government and opposition

§      The structure of a parliamentary group or caucus

§      The decision making process within a caucus

§      Effective use of parliamentary debating time

§      Party discipline and the role of a whip

§      Inter-party relations and coalition-building

§      Constituent relations

§      Building relationships with interest groups and civil society.

                        Ali Jirbawi, Professor of Political Science, Birzeit University

11.00-11.15       Break

11.15-12.45       Palestinian Party Politics and the PNC

                        Adel Samara, PNC member

12.45-13.45       Lunch

13.45-15.00       Parameters of Political Debate

§      Issues being debated in the political arena.

§      Motives for positions (e.g., vote maximization, constituent representation, personal ideolo­gies, values of party leaders, etc).

Abdul Jawad Saleh, Member of the PNC, former PLC member

9.30-11.00         The Palestinian Legislative Council

§      Structure, Mandate and Basic Law

§      Standing Orders

§      Committees

§      Resolutions/decisions

§      Decision-making processes

                        Firas Milhem, Lecturer in Law at Birzeit University

11.00-11.15       Break

11.15-12.30       Being Opposition – Rights, Roles and Constraints

                        Azmi Shua’ibi, General Coordinator for Transparency Palestine

12.30-13.30       Lunch

13.30-15.00       How Parliament Works – Experience from the Knesset

§      The role of parties in opposition and government

§      Parliamentary group and committees

§      The decision-making process

§      Inter-party relations and coalition-building

§      Relations with constituents, interest groups, and civil society

                        Abdul Malek Dehamshe, Former Knesset Member