Lower House listens to government's policy statement on Sunday

AMMAN — The Lower House will convene on Sunday to listen to the government’s policy statement, which will be delivered by Prime Minister Jafar Hassan.

According to Paragraph 3 of Article 54 of the Constitution, "Every newly formed Council of Ministers shall within one month of its formation, in cases where the Chamber of Deputies is in session, place before the Chamber of Deputies a statement of its policy and request a vote confidence on the basis of the said statement.

If the Chamber of Deputies is not in session at the time, or stands dissolved, the Speech from the Throne shall be considered to be a statement of its policy for the purposes of this Discussions on the confidence vote will begin on Monday, with voting expected to take place at the conclusion of the debates, which may extend until the end of this week or the beginning of next week.

According to the said article, a government must obtain the confidence of an absolute majority of the members of the 138-strong Lower House, meaning that at least 69 MPs must vote in favour.

His Majesty King Abdullah entrusted Hassan with forming a new Cabinet on September 15, succeeding that of Prime Minister Bishr Khasawneh.