TALLINN, ESTONIA and TIRANA, ALBANIA     
As a part of the Political Party Financing project, USAID partner National Democratic Institute (NDI) organized an exchange visit to Tallinn, Estonia. Representatives of the Central Election Commission, Albania’s Ad-Hoc Committee on Election Reform, and two civil society watchdog organizations (Albanian Institute of Science and Institute for Political Studies) to learn about the finance and reporting practices of Estonian political parties.

The objective of the visit, which took place October 21 – 24, was to help Albania create a more transparent and accountable political system.

The study group examined Estonia’s political finance regulatory framework, political party internal financial practices (including quarterly income and expense reporting) and how local watchdog organizations monitor transparency in the party’s financial reporting.  

During the visit, participants also learned how information and communications technologies helped increase transparency of political party finance and how increased transparency reduced the need for restrictive regulations.

The Tallinn-based E-Governance Academy facilitated the study group’s meetings in Estonia.