Jordan Times
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Lower House endorses
political parties draft law
Islamist deputies boycott session
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
AMMAN — The Lower House on Wednesday endorsed the political parties draft law,
in a session that saw Islamist MPs walk out in protest against House Speaker
Abdul Hadi Majali’s refusal to discuss the expulsion of two Islamist deputies.
Deputy Azzam Hneidi (Amman, First District), who heads the Islamic Action Front
(IAF) bloc, urged Majali to table the issue for discussion based on a request
they presented a few months ago.
“We made an official request to put the issue on Parliament’s schedule, but you
keep ignoring us,” Hneidi told Majali.
Majali responded by saying: “I am the House speaker and it is my right to decide
what we can discuss,” prompting Hneidi and nine other Islamist MPs to walk out
of the session.
“This is an illegal act by the House speaker,” Hneidi told The Jordan Times as
he left the Parliament.
The IAF later issued a statement criticising Majali for “procrastination” on the
issue.
“We regret this violation of the Constitution, the law and [Lower House]
internal regulations,” said the statement.
The two Islamist MPs, Ali Abul Sukkar and Mohammad Abu Fares, lost their
membership after they were sentenced to 13-month prison terms for fuelling
national discord and inciting sectarianism in August last year.
They were released from prison after being granted a special pardon, which lifts
penalties, but does not annul convictions.
According to the Constitution, a lawmaker loses his parliamentary seat if he is
sentenced to prison for more than one year for a nonpolitical crime.
The IAF, however, maintains that Abul Sukkar and Abu Fares remain MPs because of
the nature of their crime was political.
It is not yet clear if IAF bloc members will attend the next Lower House
session.
“All options are open for discussion including resignation from the Parliament,”
said Hneidi.
Later in the session, deputies endorsed the long-awaited political parties draft
law, seen as a necessary tool in the Kingdom’s march towards political reform
and democracy.
Under the law, political parties will receive annual government funding and can
establish media outlets without prior permission from the authorities.
A heated debate arose on which ministry should handle political parties. The
draft puts parties under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry, but several
lawmakers said the Ministry of Political Development was the suitable body to
handle the sensitive issue.
“We have a very bad experience with the Ministry of Interior in handling
opposition parties,” said Deputy Abdullah Akaileh (Tafileh), who noted that
Jordanians are already shunning political parties for fear of prosecution.
“If we link the parties to the Interior Ministry, we would be enhancing people’s
fear of joining them. We should encourage people to join parties not repel
them,” said Akaileh.
IAF deputies were also sceptical about linking political parties to the Interior
Ministry.
“The Ministry of Interior has a dark history in dealing with political parties.
The law, as it is, would enhance people’s belief that the government is not
serious about political reform,” Deputy Zuhair Abul Ragheb (Amman, Third
District) told the Jordan Times.
“We should encourage people to take part in political life, not discourage
them,” he added.
Figures released by a research group last June indicate that interest in
political parties is extremely low. At least 98.3 per cent of Jordanians have
never been a member of a political party in the country, according to the study
conducted by the Jordan Centre for Social Research.
But other deputies said the Interior Ministry was capable of handling the issue.
“We should not look at the Ministry of Interior as an enemy of citizens,” said
Deputy Saad Hayel Srour (Northern Badia).
The House eventually voted in favour of handing over the parties’ file to the
Interior Ministry.
Deputies also amended an article in the draft law relating to the number of
founding members of a party, changing it from 250 to 500.
In addition, the minimum age for founding members was reduced to 21 in the bill,
compared to the current 25 years, while the membership age remains at 18.
Under the law, political parties are banned from using funding from professional
associations, charities or religious groups to promote their agenda.
as