Jordan intends to delay next November's elections amid fears that regional violence and economic stagnation may usher in radical deputies bent on derailing IMF-guided economic reforms, officials were quoted as saying on Friday.
They told Reuters that King Abdullah was expected to announce the decision this week after months of speculation about the fate of the election, the third since Jordan revived parliamentary life in 1989 in the wake of civil unrest over price hikes.
"The decision has been taken and is expected in the next few days," one senior government official told the agency.
The monarch, however, stressed during May 25 independence celebrations that the elections would take place according to schedule.
The extraordinary parliamentary session was adjourned upon the king’s arrival from a private visit to Morocco in which he met with Morocco’s King Mohammad and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, who was on an official visit to Rabat.
Lawmakers and politicians say the monarch will adopt a path stipulated in the country's constitution enabling him to delay the next four-year parliamentary term by at least one year or by two years at most, according to Reuters.
Jordan's press reported Wednesday an imminent major shuffle in Prime Minister Ali Abu Al Ragheb's one-year-old cabinet.
The sources told Reuters that the shuffle was meant to give the cabinet “a freer hand to press on with IMF-guided structural reforms and spur growth.”
In public, officials say an election delay would give more time to draft a modern law to eliminate loopholes in controversial legislation that prompted an Islamist boycott of the last elections in 1997.
But privately, top decision makers worry that the advent of the Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule has exposed potential security risks and growing tension between Palestinians and Jordanians, according to Reuters – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
