New Parliament in Jordan

Many Jordanians headed to the polls recently to elect a new parliament for the fifth time in the last two years.  The people of Jordan have become skeptical of their government, which has resulted in boycotts aimed at the electoral process.  The most significant opposition group of the resent election came from the Muslim Brotherhood which not only called for a boycott of the last election, but also in 2010 and 2011 (Aljazeera.)  The Muslim Brotherhood claims that the elections are unfair and tend to favor independents, thus causing The Muslim Brotherhood to demand changes in in election law.  King Abdullah, who has recently been pushing for democracy in Jordan said, “The elections were held under a new election law that was not ideal, although it earned as much consensus as was possible” (abc news.) 

Boycotts in Jordan

With a newly inaugurated parliament, the country of Jordan has to push on to choose a Prime Minister.  King Abdullah will be assisting the new parliament on choosing the Prime Minister even though this decision has historically been left up to the legislature.  This is an extremely important time in Jordan for it provides Jordan an opportunity to demonstrate at an international level that the country is moving towards democratization, and that this newly elected parliament will not have to be immediately dissolved like parliaments in the recent past.  According to a statement that was released after the first round of consultation for a new Prime Minister, “That the next prime minister must tackle all the issues of public concern including unemployment, poverty, and must commit himself to proposing a draft law for elections, political parties and progressive income tax, and push forward to ongoing reforms in the country” (Jordan Times.)  A very optimistic King Abdulla has faith in this newly inaugurated parliament, and stories surrounding this new parliament indicate that it will have more power compared to any of the preceding parliaments in Jordan. 

King Abdullah of Jordan

As discussed in lecture, The Muslim Brotherhood has been a strong opposition group not only for Egypt, but also in Jordan.  By encouraging the boycotting of the elections, and claiming them unfair; The Muslim Brotherhood sheds a very negative light on Jordanian politics.  I believe that Jordan’s new parliament will be very successful if they are able to choose the appropriate Prime Minister for the country.  If they are able to choose a Prime Minster who possesses the same attributes that they listed in their statement following the first round of consultation, I believe the Jordanian government can satisfy all groups involved and come to some type of middle ground with The Muslim Brotherhood.  This new parliament needs to push through an appropriate Prime Minister and honor their promise of new reforms.  Jordan can come to a rest as long as they keep a straight and narrow focus and pick the appropriate Prime Minister; the main focus for Jordan is to make the people happy and cater to the needs to general public.  In class we have seen huge conflict arise between the government and the people when the government fails to provide the people with key attributes such as providing the people with employment, addressing the poverty issue, and carry through with desired reforms.  If Jordan can provide the people with want they want, I believe that all actors will be satisfied, but the government must keep their act together to prevent this parliament from being dissolved by King Abdullah.  The main focus right now is to pick an appropriate Prime Minister, one who’s agenda reflects the needs of the people.  If Jordan can keep their Prime Minster and parliament in control and stabilize their government, I believe that the country of Jordan can defeat any civil unrest. 

Sources:

Curley, Nina. " Jordan elections reignite censorship fight." Al Jazeera. n. page. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/01/20131231095023842.html>.

Halaby, Jamal. "Jordan's King Inaugurates New Parliament." abcnews. n. page. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/jordans-king-inaugurates-parliament-18455144>.

Neimat, Khaled. "First round of Consultation over Gov't Kicks off." Jordan Times. N.p., 18 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://jordantimes.com/first-round-of-consultation-over-govt-kicks-off>.