Lower House to convene to discuss reply to Speech from Throne

AMMAN — The Lower House is scheduled to convene in two sessions on Sunday to discuss the decision of the ad hoc committee formed recently to draft a reply to His Majesty King Abdullah’s Speech from the Throne.

The House’s permanent office last week formed a 21-member committee to draft a reply to His Majesty’s Speech from the Throne, which he delivered at the opening of the 18th Parliament’s second ordinary session on November 12.

Under the Constitution, Parliament must respond to the King’s Speech from the Throne within two weeks.

Opening the Parliament’s second ordinary session, the King commended the legislature’s performance during the past session, which resulted in “the endorsement of a package of vital legislation encompassing several key sectors”.

The Monarch also expressed pride in the progress made on democratisation, especially the success of the local polls held in August, marking the start of the decentralisation process and a new style in local governance.

The House will discuss the committee’s draft reply to Speech from the Throne in a closed-door morning session.

In another afternoon open session, the Chamber is scheduled to elect the members of its 20 permanent committees. Each committee has to be made of maximum 11 MPs or minimum 5, according to the House bylaws. 

Following His Majesty’s opening of the second ordinary session, the House convened and elected the speaker’s deputies and assistants 

The House for the first time did not elect a new speaker, with Atef Tarawneh holding the speakership position for another calendar year, in line with the new constitutional amendments. 

According to the 2016 amendments to Article 96 of the Constitution, “The Chamber of Deputies shall elect its Speaker at the beginning of each ordinary session for a period of two calendar years.”

Deputies Khamis Atiyyeh and Suleiman Al Zaben were elected as the Speaker’s first and second deputies respectively.

MPs Mahmoud Odwan and Faisal Aawar were elected as speaker’s assistants.