Chairperson of the Royal Committee to Modernise the Political System, Samir Rifai, met Sunday, with local community from the Central Badia Region to listen to their opinions, proposals and observations related to the committee’s work.
Rifai said the committee sticks to the letter of His Majesty King Abdullah II, aimed to modernize Jordan’s political system to achieve programmatic parliamentary action, and contribute to empowering youth and women, and developing local administration.
Rifai said the parties’ development seeks to reach “strong” parliaments that reflect citizens’ aspirations and concerns.
For the first time, he said the Parties and Election Laws are being “deliberated jointly, which complement each other,” adding that Jordan’s three Badia districts will remain closed for candidacy purposes, while their candidates will be allowed to run on the party list, and the rest of the Kingdom’s electoral districts, provided meeting the residency criteria.
Each electoral district will maintain its percentage of parliamentary representation, he said, adding that any reduction in the number of Parliament seats for some regions will not affect their representation ratio.
Candidacy for national lists will be exclusively allowed for parties, provided that the candidate has joined the party at least a year before he/she runs for elections, he said referring to the major axis of the sub-committees’ deliberations.
“What citizens want is not the number of lawmakers, but rather an effective Lower House, regardless of the number of its members, that expresses their issues, Rifai told the attendees,” he pointed out.
To achieve this goal, he said strengthening Parliament through programmatic blocs would enhance the rest of Jordan’s institutions.
Source: Jordan News Agency