Lawmakers begin deliberating political parties bill

AMMAN — The Lower House on Sunday started its deliberations of the draft political parties law, with controversy surrounding Article 3, which defines political parties.

During the session, chaired by Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh and attended by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and members of his Cabinet, lawmakers engaged in a heated debate over the number of party founders. 

The Chamber’s joint legal and public freedoms committee suggested that the number of founding members should be 500, while some MPs said the number should be 150. 

MPs then decided to postpone the vote on this article because of the differing opinions, but the vote for postponement failed.   

After a lengthy debate, MPs voted that a political party is any political grouping that comprises a group of Jordanians and is founded in pursuance of the Constitution, with the intent of participating in political life and achieving specific goals, related to political, economic and social affairs through legitimate means.

Ahead of the session, members of the Lower House’s Mubadara group held a meeting, chaired by Deputy Khalil Atiyeh (Amman, 1st District) during which they discussed the draft law and agreed on several articles and proposed amendments.  

The bloc members decided to adopt a unified position regarding the various articles.