accordance with international
best practices, we call for a new approach.
We will start as part of this new approach
with consultations over the government’s
formation with the Lower
House and parliamentary blocs as they
take shape, in order to reach consensus
that leads to the designation of a prime
minister, who, in turn, will enter into
consultations with the parliamentary blocs
and other political forces as he selects
his ministerial team. He will then seek
the Lower House’s confidence based
on a policy statement resulting from the
consultation process, and on four-year
programmes" His Majesty further said.
King Abdullah emphasised
that the development of the consultation
mechanism hinges on the development of
partisan and parliamentary work, which
leads to the emergence of a majority parliamentary
coalition on partisan basis." The
government would emerge from such coalition,
while an opposition parliamentary coalition
would take shape to monitor the majority
and serve as shadow government",
he said.
His Majesty stressed the
need to achieve parliamentary and governmental
stability, so that Parliament and government
can carry out their work in a positive
atmosphere over a full four-year term,
as long as the government maintains the
confidence of the Lower House, and the
Lower House maintains the confidence of
the people.
The King called for a new bottom-up approach
to government work based on building strategies
and action plans in consultation with
the grassroots. "The government should
exercise transparency and openness and
make available all necessary information
when it presents to the people and their
representatives budgets, projects, implementation
stages and progress reports. Governments
should be judged and held accountable
on the basis of all of the above,"
he said.
"This requires continuous
improvement in the efficiency and quality
of government services, which should be
accessible to all citizens. It also requires
that government agencies commit to institutionalised
work to achieve the highest degree of
efficiency and transparency in the selection
of secretaries general and general managers
and to ensure the success of government
plans. This means that the government
should take the initiative and launch
a white revolution to advance performance
in line with a declared plan with specific
goals."
In the Name of God,
the Most Merciful, the Compassionate,
Prayers and peace
be upon Our Master Mohammad, the Honest
Arab Hashemite Prophet
Honourable Senators,
Honourable Deputies,
Peace, God's mercy and blessings
be upon you.
In the name of God, and with
His blessings, we inaugurate the first
session of the Seventeenth Parliament,
which we want to be a milestone on the
road to democratisation and comprehensive
reform, which has been our approach since
the day we assumed our constitutional
responsibilities. We have worked, and
we will continue to work, with unrelenting
determination to strengthen the nation
as source of power and partner in decision-making,
out of our commitment to serving the interests
of our people. You can realise this goal
by performing your historic responsibilities
as deputies and senators representing
all Jordanians, being accountable to citizens,
and carrying out your monitoring and legislative
duties. You are also expected to shoulder
your responsibility towards the success
of this historic transformation towards
parliamentary government and its development.
We will work together and carry out our
responsibilities based on the principles
enshrined in the over 90-year-long legacy
of our national institutions, and we will
move confidently towards renewal and comprehensive
national renaissance.
Over more than a year, a
set of reforms has been implemented, aimed
to strengthen the democratic approach
and empower the people, through their
representatives, to consolidate their
active role in decision-making, monitoring
and accountability, and enhance the role
of the Lower House as a cornerstone in
the parliamentary hereditary monarchy
system based on the Constitution.
Jordan has achieved constitutional
amendments that have entrenched the principle
of separation and balance of powers and
prevented the encroachment of one branch
of government over the other. These changes
have enrooted the independence of the
judiciary, respect for human rights and
the principles of justice and equality.
They also enhanced the legislative and
monitoring role of the Lower House, and
paved the way for the creation of a set
of constitutional and monitoring institutions
to strengthen our democracy. Chief among
them is the Constitutional Court, which
specialises in overseeing the constitutionality
of laws and regulations in force. Within
the same context, we updated a package
of political laws, including the Political
Parties Law, Elections Law and Public
Gatherings Law, to widen and deepen political
participation, enroot partisan action
and freedom of expression. The Independent
Elections Commission also emerged as an
independent entity to ensure the integrity
and transparency of elections. The commission’s
efforts in overseeing the recent parliamentary
elections that produced your esteemed
Assembly have been unprecedented, as testified
by both local and international observers.
As we pass through a decisive
transitional period that requires us to
update the way government and legislature
work, we have to underline a set of principles
and national priorities that we have reached
through the evaluation of previous governments’
performances and outreach to all pillars
of the state and segments of society.
These principles and priorities should
serve as guidelines for Parliament and
the coming parliamentary government.
Honourable Senators,
Honourable Deputies,
After we have held parliamentary
elections in a fair and transparent manner
and in accordance with international best
practices, we call for a new approach.
We will start as part of this new approach
with consultations over the government’s
formation with the Lower House and parliamentary
blocs as they take shape, in order to
reach consensus that leads to the designation
of a prime minister, who, in turn, will
enter into consultations with the parliamentary
blocs and other political forces as he
selects his ministerial team. He will
then seek the Lower House’s confidence
based on a policy statement resulting
from the consultation process, and on
four-year programmes.
If a coalition of blocs that
enjoys the support of the House’s
majority emerges, the consultation and
government formation processes will be
quick and smooth. In the absence of a
majority coalition, on the other hand,
this process will take more time and effort.
This is a fundamental fact of parliamentary
democracy.
I emphasise here that the
development of the consultation mechanism
hinges on the development of partisan
and parliamentary work, which leads to
the emergence of a majority parliamentary
coalition on partisan basis. The government
would emerge from such coalition, while
an opposition parliamentary coalition
would take shape to monitor the majority
and serve as shadow government.
Such role requires that you
shoulder a great responsibility. Parliament
should serve as incubator of national
dialogue and engage in extensive discussions
with local communities and political forces,
so that the views of all are heard and
taken into account in the decision-making
process. Each citizen should become convinced
that his or her political participation
is fruitful.
The Lower House’s role
in a parliamentary government system requires
that the House move quickly to develop
its rules of procedure to institutionalise
the work of parliamentary blocs and enhance
its effectiveness. The Lower House should
also develop a binding code of conduct
under which deputies commit themselves
to constructive parliamentary practices
that strengthen their legislative and
monitoring performance, and establish
a relationship with the government based
on competition in the service of the public
good, rather than narrow personal gains,
and fight wasta and favouritism.
The elections were held under
a new election law that was not ideal,
although it earned as much consensus as
was possible. Therefore, I call for revisiting
this law based on an assessment of your
experience and for reviewing the electoral
system in a way that wins consensus, promotes
fair representation, enables parties to
compete fairly, enhances the parliamentary
government experience and safeguards the
principle of pluralism. This system should
develop in parallel with the evolution
of partisan life.
We also seek to achieve parliamentary
and governmental stability, so that Parliament
and government can carry out their work
in a positive atmosphere over a full four-year
term, as long as the government maintains
the confidence of the Lower House, and
the Lower House maintains the confidence
of the people.
Honourable Senators,
Honourable Deputies,
We call for a new bottom-up
approach to government work based on building
strategies and action plans in consultation
with the grassroots. The government should
exercise transparency and openness and
make available all necessary information
when it presents to the people and their
representatives budgets, projects, implementation
stages and progress reports. Governments
should be judged and held accountable
on the basis of all of the above. The
government and its agencies, therefore,
should believe beyond doubt that their
top responsibility is the development
of the public sector through fieldwork,
direct communication with the public and
understanding of citizens’ needs.
Otherwise, the Lower House would be held
accountable before the people to withdraw
its confidence from the government or
a certain minister.
This requires continuous
improvement in the efficiency and quality
of government services, which should be
accessible to all citizens. It also requires
that government agencies commit to institutionalised
work to achieve the highest degree of
efficiency and transparency in the selection
of secretaries general and general managers
and to ensure the success of government
plans. This means that the government
should take the initiative and launch
a white revolution to advance performance
in line with a declared plan with specific
goals.
Honourable Senators,
Honourable Deputies,
The socio-economic approach
of the Jordanian state has been characterised
over ninety years by flexibility and continuous
development, based on partnership and
integration between the public and private
sectors and civil society organisations.
Therefore, the public sector should be
the catalyst, regulator and monitor that
protects citizens and consumers, ensures
the provision of quality basic services
and stimulates the business environment.
The private sector, on the other hand,
should be the key initiator when it comes
to investment and job creation, whereas
civil society organisations and local
cooperatives should serve as incubators
of entrepreneurship and volunteerism.
It is with such a mix based on integrated
efforts and mutual and balanced responsibilities
of the three sectors that we overcome
our economic and social challenges.
We emphasise here the importance
of successive governments’ work
on the development of governorates in
partnership with the private sector and
civil society. The aim is to stimulate
the energies of local communities through
the completion of the decentralisation
project, which complements and enhances
our democratic process, advances decision-making
mechanisms, ensures the highest degree
of popular participation in local decision-making,
and leads to a more equitable distribution
of development gains. The Governorates
Development Fund will play a supportive
role in the implementation of these objectives.
Honourable Senators,
Honourable Deputies,
There is a need to make the
necessary amendments to the laws affected
by the constitutional amendments, to ensure
that they comply with the Constitution.
I also underline here a set of laws that
require your cooperation to be completed
in a manner that responds to citizens’
aspirations. Most important among these
are the draft laws on illicit gains, civil
service retirement and income tax, along
with the landlords and tenants law, which
should ensure justice for all parties.
There are also the consumer protection,
investment and public-private sector partnership,
labour and social security laws.
Honourable Senators,
Honourable Deputies,
Jordan is capable, God willing,
to stand up to any external challenge,
and this requires a constant commitment
to supporting our Armed Forces and security
agencies, and reinforce our internal front,
which is the source of our strength. In
parallel with this, we should be keen
to consolidate our regional and global
active role, which is founded on a foreign
policy that supports our Palestinian brothers
in the restoration of their historical
and legitimate rights, and the establishment
of their long-sought state on Palestinian
national soil. We also support joint Arab
action and defend the true image of our
Islamic faith as a religion of moderation.
Honourable Senators,
Honourable Deputies,
The vision and blueprint
we have put forward are requirements for
democratic transformation and the basic
rules of a reformist approach in which
the roles of the Lower House, parliamentary
governments and citizens are integrated
under the unifying umbrella of the Constitution.
This vision is backed by the just judiciary,
to which we reiterate our support and
commitment to providing all requirements
for its independence. Reform is also complemented
by media outlets that are professional,
responsible and balanced as they work
to expose the truth, defend freedom of
expression and respect the rights of individuals.
And we shall proceed, committed to reform
and modernisation.
I ask God Almighty to grant
us success as we serve the interests of
our homeland and citizens and pursue development,
democracy and renaissance.
Peace, God's mercy and blessings
be upon you.
