AMMAN — Amid fears of a showdown between the government and Islamists that might see a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood following their fall in Egypt, both the government and the Islamic opposition are playing down such a possibility, while analysts urge a serious and constructive dialogue between the two sides.
AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Saad Hayel Srour on Tuesday said he will include a request to withdraw confidence in the government on the agenda of Wednesday's session.
He made the remark at the beginning of a Lower House session on Tuesday where MPs continued their deliberations over the temporary social security law.
AMMAN — The higher coordinating committee for opposition parties on Tuesday said its members have not agreed on their position towards the upcoming municipal elections, slated for August 27.
In a statement, the committee noted that it will wait before declaring its formal position on participation in the elections pending the Constitutional Court’s decision on an appeal contesting the Municipalities Law’s constitutionality filed by 80 deputies earlier this week.
Independent Elections Commission (IEC) Spokesperson Hussein Bani Hani on Monday said the agency will be supervising upcoming municipal elections, slated for August 27, and not managing them.
He said the polls will be managed by the Municipal Affairs Ministry, citing Article 25 of the Municipalities Law.
Bani Hani added that the IEC will monitor and follow up on measures taken by the ministry during the elections without interference in any of the regulations and procedures set by the government.
A new draft firearms and ammunition law places further restrictions on the acquisition of automatic weapons, a top official said on Thursday, amid a significant increase in the use of guns and violence across the Kingdom over the past few years.
Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammed Momani told The Jordan Times on Thursday that the government will move to have the bill enacted by Parliament as soon as possible.
His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday called on deputies to upgrade the Lower House bylaws and codes as a prerequisite to having parliamentary governments.
His Majesty made his remarks at a meeting with Lower House members at the Royal Court, where he discussed Parliament’s duties, escalating campus violence as well as Jordan’s stand on Syria crisis developments and repercussions of the conflict on national security, according to a Royal Court statement.
AMMAN — Municipal elections will be held on August 27, the government announced on Wednesday.
Interior Minister and Minister of Municipal Affairs Hussein Majali said preparations for the elections will kick off within the coming few days, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Cabinet decided to task the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) with supervising the municipal elections.
The Independent Elections Commission (IEC) on Wednesday said it would soon submit to His Majesty King Abdullah a detailed report on the parliamentary elections of this year, after it has completed a “review” of all stages of the process.
The report will include recommendations to improve the country’s electoral system, including amending the 2012 Elections Law, according to IEC chief Abdul Ilah Khatib.
Deputies on Wednesday failed to agree on one nominee to head the new government, putting more focus on the new premier’s agenda rather than the name.
Wednesday’s meeting of the largest parliamentary coalition, in which members were due to have scheduled internal elections to vote over the next prime minister, failed to settle differences of opinion between the parties.
The 82-MP “coalition of four” is made up of the Watan (25 MPs), the Islamic Centrist Party (15 MPs), the Democratic Gathering (24 MPs) and the Free Pledge (18 MPs) blocs.
A coalition of four parliamentary blocs representing the majority of the Lower House will nominate one candidate to head the next government before the weekend, leaders of the coalition said on Monday.
Meanwhile, Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh met Monday with independent deputies, concluding marathon talks over the formation of the new government.
The 84-member coalition is composed of members of the Watan (27 MPs), Democratic Gathering (24 MPs), Free Pledge (18 MPs) and the Islamic Centrist Party (15 MPs) blocs.
On the eve of the kick-off of consultations between lawmakers and Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh to designate a prime minister, several House blocs held closed-door meetings to finalise their positions.
Some of these coalitions declared their stands on government formation as the country embarks on the parliamentary government experience as an ultimate goal of political reforms.
Three blocs in the 150-seat Lower House were in talks on Thursday to form the largest coalition under the Dome.
The Watan “Homeland” bloc led by veteran deputy Khalil Atiyeh finalised a deal with the Islamic Centrist Party (ICP) bloc led by the party’s secretary general, Mohammad Al Haj, to form a joint coalition of around 54 MPs.
Moderate Islamists who claim to have the so-far largest coherent bloc in the new Lower House have approached the Muslim Brotherhood to engage them in the formation of the upcoming government and have received a positive response, a leader from the group said.
Leaders from the Brotherhood said they are open to ideas when talks get serious with officials.
Fresh off a strong showing in last week’s parliamentary elections, leaders of the Islamic Centrist Party now claim they are positioned to assume the mantle of Lower House speaker and even form the country’s next government.
Defying initial forecasts, members of the party took 16 seats in the January 23 polls, including three through the national list competition and 13 in district-level races, over four times the number of those secured by the second leading national list.
The Independent Elections Commission (IEC) on Saturday said the Citizenship ticket, led by former minister Hazem Qashou, did not win a seat in the 17th Lower House, granting the seat instead to the leftist Democratic Renaissance list.
After recounting the votes following a complaint by the leftist list’s leader, Ablah Abu Olbeh, to the National Centre for Human Rights, the commission recounted the votes and discovered a mistake in the preliminary result.
The Independent Elections Commission (IEC) on Thursday acknowledged a delay in vote counting after all polling stations across the country were closed late Wednesday.
Several local districts witnessed a delay in the announcement of their preliminary results last night, due to what the IEC described as the "new system for the polls".
Jordanians head to the polls today to select members of the 17th Lower House of Parliament.
Around 2.3 million eligible voters are registered to elect the 150-strong House.
For the first time ever, voters will cast two ballots, one for the local district and the other for the closed proportional list at the national level, according to the 2012 Elections Law.
Analysts and activists predicted on Sunday that at least two women might win outside the 15-seat women’s quota in Wednesday’s parliamentary elections.
“I expect that this time four or five women might win seats outside the quota because several women have proven themselves in the previous House and they have strong bases that will re-elect them without the need for a quota,” said Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan Musa Shteiwi.
