The government is pushing on at a “steady and real” pace, in accordance with His Majesty King Abdullah II’s directives and visions to enter the state’s 2nd centennial with plans aimed to modernize Jordan’s political system, develop the public sector, carry out necessary economic reforms and address major challenges, primarily poverty and unemployment, Prime Minister, Dr. Bishr Khasawneh, said Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference held Sunday, at the Prime Ministry, in the presence of a number of ministers, the PM announced new government measures to promote customs reforms and launch 5G mobile infrastructure services in the telecom sector, in addition to enhancing employment opportunities.
The PM also said the first mechanisms of political modernization in the state’s 2nd centennial was His Majesty King Abdullah II’s decision to form the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System (RCMPS).
In addition, the PM affirmed that the government adhered to the Royal “guarantee” by sending the two bills related to political parties and elections and the related constitutional amendments to the Lower House of Representatives, adding that the government added some constitutional amendments before sending the package to the Lower House.
The PM said the constitutional amendments, which were endorsed by the Lower House during the past week, aim to “achieve a leap in the Kingdom’s political modernization process,” leading to a three-phase parliament with partisan majorities.
After three electoral rounds, it is expected that political parties will have 65 seats in the Lower House, within an “empowering” framework for women and youth, according to the texts of the two draft laws related to political parties and elections, which will be debated by the Parliament, according to the legislative and constitutional track, the PM added.
The recently-approved constitutional amendments reduced the age of candidacy to 25 years, which reflects belief in the young generation to handle parliamentary work and also aims to reach partisan governments, “to enable the partisan majority to form governments within a public system that maintains the rights of the political majority,” according to Khasawneh.
In a related context, he referred to the diverse economic and administrative reforms, adding that public sector’s development constitutes a “necessary and essential” leverage for modernization of political life and economic reforms.
The government, he said, has recently formed a Public Sector Modernization Committee, comprised of group of ministers and a number of institutional work experts, meets on a regular basis at the Prime Ministry, and seeks to to review the necessary legislation that enables and modernizes the public sector.
Source: Jordan News Agency