Jordan: Opponents oppose change to ‘expand the monarchy’ | Political Issues

Amman, Jordan – Legislators have recently introduced a number of reforms that critics say are increasing the power of King Abdullah II.

Thirty legislative changes passed through the lower and upper echelons easily earlier this month – the only unforgettable debate in parliament that has been fueled by personal issues rather than by the legislature.

“They play with the constitution,” said Mahmoud al-Kharabsheh, who during his 20 years in parliament served several positions as head of the House Legal Committee.

Central to that change is the establishment of a National Security Council, consisting of the prime minister, foreign ministers and foreign ministers, heads of state security agencies, and others elected by the king. They will gather “in proper place” at the king’s command.

Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh described the council as a “safety valve” to ensure that “there are no sensitive views affecting the country”, Jordanian journalists quoted him as saying.

The current leader of the Lower House Legislative Committee and former Speaker of the House Abdul Monem Odat told Al Jazeera that the council would support a national security agreement.

However, some experts say that the council forms the “fourth branch of the state”.

“We have never had a law with such great power for His King,” said Oraib Rantawi, head of Al Quds Center for Political Studies from Amman.

Recent amendments also add Section 40, which enhances the “special powers” of the king to appoint and remove the chief judge, chief Sharia Judicial Council, and other judicial officers.

This adds to King Abdullah’s growing power, including his ability to elect a new prime minister and lower house, upper house, court, military, and security services.

“We have no problem with the king using too much power because the law says he is the head of state. But you will not leave anything to the elected minister, the elected government, ”said Raed Omari, a former political analyst and journalist.

‘New and critical phase’

The latest changes were in line with the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System (RCMPS) – a committee of 92 members of King Abdullah tasked with reforming the political system to make the empire a “new and complex state”.

The king established the committee during the ascent unemployment and high levels of dissatisfactionand after another uncle The plot that Prince Hamzah allegedly committed.

The transformation of the committee requires women and youth to participate in political activities and to open up opportunities for active parties. They have reserved 30 per cent of the seats in the parliamentary elections for the next election, with a target of 60 percent in the coming years.

Currently, less than 10 per cent of Jordanian parliamentary seats have parties; many counselors run on the basis of race or family support.

Supporting political parties is “an issue that has been strongly rejected in the past,” Rantawi said.

The changes allow anyone accused of their membership to apply for compensation in court – especially in Jordan, where party membership has been under scrutiny for some time.

“This is very unusual. We have never had such an approach in drafting party policies in the last 30 years,” Rantawi said.

“I’m going ahead with the committee,” he said, but “going back from the government”.

“Unfortunately, the government added two legislative amendments, which were not part of the package created and approved by the committee,” said Dima Tahboub, a former member of Parliament, a spokesman for the Jordanian Islamic Action Front, and a member of the RCMPS.

“These two magnify the monarchy,” Tahboub told Al Jazeera.

From politics wishes for Arab Spring, there have been three well-known legal changes in Jordan: 2011, 2016, and 2020, Omari said. “With all these changes together it’s like changing 100 percent legislation,” he told Al Jazeera.

“They have promised to fix this country and we are on our way to parliament. This is what he says. But their actions show that there is no problem. That is the problem. ”

‘Am I scared?’

Odat said since 2011 the changes have been based on “reforming all parties”. He stressed that the recent reforms do not give new impetus to the emperor, but show the existing power to ensure that it will not be compromised by future conflicts or disputes.

However, Tahboub said this “starts with a sense of mistrust” in parliament.

A former member of Parliament Kharabsheh added: “If we are going to parliament or a party government and we are scared, why are we going?”

A recent study from the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan found that parliament was the most reliable institution in Jordan.

Although the change took place in parliament without the slightest input from the public, what attracted the attention was the debate between the two MPs in a bid to add “Jordanian women” to the equal share of the Constitution.

Several leaders exchanged blows in a debate in Jordan’s parliament after a dispute escalated when the speaker of the assembly asked his deputy to leave, witnesses said. https://t.co/4WVq2L1Div pic.twitter.com/RqA04SZHeY

Reuters (@Reuters) December 28, 2021

However, the fist had nothing to do with the content of the change, as one week later it passed with difficulty, without any arguments or arguments, Omari said.

The three MPs who took part in the debate “had no political affiliation, they were elected because they were rich.” said Omari. For councilors, discussing the rules or the price of tomatoes is the same.

‘You have to buy votes’

Ahmad al-Khawaldeh is a fifth-year student at Jordan University who helped organize the 2020 voting for a man in his hometown of Mafraq, about 80km (44 miles) north of Amman.

“A lot of people end up in the wrong positions or ineligible for their jobs because they got there because of corruption,” he said.

“Corruption has become a regular part of life. Regardless of whether the person is good or not, you need to buy votes to win. Everyone sells their votes, people buy votes and so on… This happens a lot. ”

A taxi driver in Amman, who requested anonymity, expressed his views on parliamentary proceedings. “They rob the world. I am a thief. ”

Khaled Qudah, a political commentator and journalist in Amman, said Jordan’s electoral laws did not promote a political and working parliament, but promoted electoral success based on racial or family ties and finances.

He referred to 1989, when former King Hussein instituted a gradual reform process that led to a “small house chosen because of a progressive, prosperous, democratic electoral law”. Since then, however, the law has virtually silenced political parties and the people.

Tahboub said in most cases the votes of the councilors do not depend on the candidates, but on the public service they receive.

“Every time they vote for something, they think twice. They say, ‘Well, if I did that, maybe the government would not build a school in my area…’ This is the problem if you create a parliament that favors the government, ‘

“Most Jordanian people do not really know the purpose, or function of the legislature, which is to represent the people and change the laws that need to be changed to help strengthen the economy,” al-Khawaldeh said. “When we see a problem in the government we do not blame the legislators, we blame the government.

Without a representative support system, along with lack of jobs that have never been done leaving many in Jordan frustrated, the blame rests on the sole candidate.

“They are setting the king apart,” said political analyst Amer al-Sabaleih. “In an environment where things are not going well, people are starting to blame the decision makers, and in their minds who is the only decision maker?”

A political test

The government has called for the revival of political parties for more than a decade, despite the slow progress and even the return of politics.

“People here have never done democracy, they have no rights,” Omari said.

The government has been using the “unjust prison” system, which allows government officials to detain anyone they consider to be a threat to public order – a tool used to deter politicians. In 2018-19, these arrests amounted to about 38,000 each year. according to statistics mentioned in the Carnegie Endowment report for International Peace.

Jordan has also enforced “cybercrime law”, banning citizens from using social media to challenge government policies. “I know a lot of human rights activists who are currently working in prisons because of what they said on television,” Omari said.

As politics and free speech have been banned in Jordan, “people have the idea that if you want to be in a political party, you have to be willing to pay the price for your election,” Tahboub added.

Adjusting the committee’s recent changes to allow for more political “will be a test” for both parties and the government, Tahboub said.

“Bring in the best laws but intervene, and you will have the worst counselors.”