Jordan Times
Monday, January 29, 2007
Municipal elections to
be held by mid-2007 — prime minister
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
AMMAN — The Lower House began deliberations on the long-awaited draft
municipalities law, vital for political reform in the Kingdom, on Sunday.
The bill paves the way for nationwide municipal elections and allows a wider
range of citizens to cast their ballots by reducing the age of qualified voters
from 19 to 18 years old.
Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, who told lawmakers the government intends to hold
municipal elections by the middle of this year, voiced hope that the law would
be finalised so it could be enacted.
He also noted that His Majesty King Abdullah’s directives to the government
focused on introducing legislation on political reform.
The draft law includes significant changes, including direct elections of mayors
outside Amman and allowing individuals aged 18 and over to take part in the
elections, Bakhit added.
In his Letter of Designation to the government, the King gave priority to
legislation on political development, including municipalities, elections, press
and publications and political parties laws.
The bill also allocates 20 per cent of municipal council seats for women,
including in Amman, and gives the government the right to appoint women to
councils where the required number of women candidates is not realised.
Conservative lawmakers, including Deputy Mahmoud Kharabsheh (Balqa, First
District) Ghanem Abu Rabie (Mafraq), Zuheir Abul Ragheb (Amman, Third District)
among others, said allocating a quota for women was a flagrant violation of the
Constitution.
They argued that the Constitution says Jordanians have equal rights and duties,
men and women, therefore a quota means discrimination.
Minister of State for Legal Affairs Khalid Samara Zu’bi assured deputies that no
Constitutional violation was being committed, adding that several election laws
already have quotas for certain groups of society.
“Women are an integral part of our society and we must give them the chance to
take part in decision-making,” he said.
The majority of MPs voted in favour of granting women the quota.
Meanwhile, a heated debate arose regarding the level of independence that should
be granted to municipalities. Several deputies, including members of the Islamic
Action Front (IAF), argued that municipalities should have administrative and
financial independence.
They said development projects faced stumbling blocks because crucial decisions
had to wait for government approval.
Jaafar Hourani, (Zarqa, Fourth District), member of the House Administrative
Committee that studied the bill, opposed a decision by the panel to endorse a
clause that gives municipalities limited independence.
"Municipalities cannot attain their objectives unless they enjoy full
independence, financial and administrative," he said.
Deputy Azzam Hneidi, (Amman, First District), who heads the IAF bloc, said
"financial independence without administrative independence would hinder
municipalities from doing their duties."
But Deputy Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh (Irbid, Second District) countered by saying
municipalities must be controlled and monitored by the government to prevent
irregularities and possible fraud.
"Democracy, as we know, is tailored to our needs; this means the government must
be involved in municipalities’ operations," he said.
Several deputies attempted to persuade lawmakers to vote in favour of a proposal
that entails electing all the members of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM)
Council, including the mayor.
Current legislation, as well as the draft law, authorises the government to
appoint half the council members as well as the mayor, while the other half are
elected.
They noted that the capital is home to nearly half the Kingdom's population, but
they are deprived of the right to elect all the council members.
Deputy Mohammad Kouz (Amman, Second District) said an elected council means
better services.
"Why did government deprive citizens of their rights? Residents of east Amman
suffer from neglect and lack of services, therefore we need to elect our mayor."
Deputy Nariman Rousan (Irbid) said democracy should be implemented throughout
the Kingdom without exceptions.
"Was democracy created for villages only? What about Amman, the biggest city in
the Kingdom?” she asked.
Other deputies said the GAM was “working perfectly under the current system;”
therefore there was no need to change the status quo.
Ultimately, the House voted in favour of appointing half the GAM council
members.
A suggestion by Deputy Abdul Karim Dughmi (Mafraq) to elect two-thirds of the
council members and appoint one third, also failed to gain support.
The House was scheduled to continue deliberating the draft civil aviation law
after it had endorsed the first three articles of the legislation during last
Wednesday’s session, but Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali proposed shifting
discussions to the municipal law and the majority of deputies agreed to the
suggestion.
Majali adjourned the session until Wednesday for further deliberation.