Democratization of Parliament and representatives of Albanian civil society, academia, the Council of Europe and the diplomatic community. Observers from OSCE field operations also attended the event, where parliamentarians and experts examined the need for parliamentary-ethics regulation, drawing on examples from different OSCE States. ODIHR’s engagement in promoting norms of parliamentary ethics resulted in the development of a study on professional and ethical standards for parliamentarians. The study, to be published in 2013, is aimed at promoting good practices and will serve to assist OSCE participating States in developing and reforming ethical standards. ODIHR plays a key role in sharing the wealth of OSCE experience in implementing parliamentary-support programmes and often acts as a “knowledge hub”. To this end, ODIHR implemented a project on “Strengthening Parliamentary Structures for Women MPs in the OSCE Region” in 2012. The Office developed a comparative report on parliamentary structures established in OSCE parliaments as a means to strengthen gender equality and women’s substantive representation. During a workshop and study tour organized in Vienna on 10 and 11 December, ODIHR presented the draft report to over 50 participants, including 29 women parliamentarians from OSCE and Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation countries. The event also enabled participants to share good practices and lessons learned in establishing and running such structures, as well as to exchange views with the Speaker of the Austrian Parliament and the Minister for Women and Civil Service. ODIHR was also invited to present the study’s findings at a workshop gathering Serbian parliamentarians interested in establishing a women’s caucus, organized by the Belgrade Center 36 ODIHR Annual Report 2012 for Political Excellence with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, on 18 December. Ensuring Pluralistic Political Party Systems A political party system that offers real choice and operates according to fair rules can help to ensure democratic advancement, citizen representation and a vibrant policy debate. Political parties often serve as bridges between the executive and legislative branches of government and help to effectively prioritize the legislative agenda within a system of government. Political parties also perform critical functions between elections that serve to promote genuine multiparty systems necessary to support the development of effective, sustainable political institutions. ODIHR’s support to OSCE participating States’ efforts to establish a legal and regulatory framework guaranteeing basic conditions in which multi-party systems can thrive is based on OSCE commitments and the principles expressed in the Guidelines on Political Party Regulation. Based on these guidelines, ODIHR’s democratic governance programme continued to provide support and advice to participating State institutions, political parties, OSCE field operations and civil society on how to best protect and advance political pluralism. ODIHR also utilized its expertise on political party regulation to build the analytical capacity of independent think tanks to advocate for policy reform. This support resulted in the publication of a report on Political Party Regulation and Women’s Participation in Political Life in Tajikistan, authored by a leading think tank, the National Association of Political Scientists of Tajikistan. The financing of political parties was another key focus area for ODIHR in 2012. The Office worked with the Central Election Commission of Moldova, the Anti-Corruption Agency in Serbia, OSCE field operations and a number of civil society organizations to promote their efforts in reforming party-financing regulation. To this end, ODIHR organized events in Serbia to discuss implementation of the 2011 Law on Financing of Political Activities and the challenges related to monitoring and oversight of political party funding in the country. Furthermore, on 30 and 31 October, ODIHR contributed to the conference on “Political Party Finance in Moldova: Current Situation and Reform Options”, coorganized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova, the Central Election Commission of Moldova, IFES and the East Europe Foundation and Institute for Development and Social Initiatives. As a result of this event, ODIHR initiated a combined legal review of the two sets of amendments related to political party and campaign finance in Moldova, in co-operation with the Venice Commission. In the spirit of promoting political pluralism, ODIHR facilitated a study tour to Poland from 10 to 14 September for 11 representatives of political parties, ministries and think tanks from Kazakhstan, in the framework of the project “Enhancing Kazakhstan’s Political Party System” implemented by the OSCE Centre in Astana in co-operation with ODIHR. The agenda included briefings at the Presidential Administration and the National Assembly of Poland, as well as meetings with leading political parties and prominent civil society organizations.