جوردان تايمز - Opposition parties called for handing the highly sensitive issue of political party funding to an independent public institution, such as the Audit Bureau, citing concerns that “governments could hold parties hostage to their political agendas”.

Two days after the Cabinet approved a decision by the Ministry of Interior to allocate JD50,000 for each of the Kingdom's licensed 14 parties, opposition leaders were critical of the move.

"We are not saying this government might try to manipulate parties, but what about future governments? This issue should be protected by a law so that no minister or a senior official can harm parties whenever they feel like it," said Abdul Majid Dandis, member of political bureau at Al Wehda Al Shaabia Party.

Dandis noted that it is the right of all parties to obtain official funding, but at the same time they must be guaranteed smooth access to the cash.

He also called for implementing tight audit procedures to prevent attempts to manipulate the funds either by the parties themselves or by the officials.

The politician also questioned the fate of the remaining money that was allocated in the state budget for the parties, considering that the total amount of money to be given to all parties does not exceed JD700,000.

The Parliament earlier this year endorsed the state budget, which allocated JD5 million for parties funding.

Dandis and other officials from the opposition said the government must explain where the remaining money has gone.

"The manner in which the government is dealing with parties and issues related to their work reveals that its declared political reform agenda is mere lip service," he told The Jordan Times.

Dandis' remarks were echoed by officials from the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood and the most influential party in the Kingdom.

According to one of the parties’ leaders, Rheil Gharaybeh, the state must be in control of parties' funding, expressing hope the new system will usher reform in the political life in the Kingdom.

"The government should have implemented the funding months ago, particularly since the Political Parties Law was enforced at the beginning of this year," he told The Jordan Times.

Gharaybeh was less than happy that the funding system dealt with all parties on equal footing, despite the fact that many parties have no more than 500 members and relatively few branches across the country.

"The funding system should have taken into consideration the number of branches, cadres and the party's presence in the Parliament," said Gharaybeh, describing the new system as "unfair".