House panel endorses constitutional amendments

AMMAN — The Lower House’s Legal Committee on Wednesday endorsed the draft amendments to the Constitution just one day after receiving them from MPs.

The committee made a minor change to the amended Paragraph 3 of Article 127 of the Constitution, making it read as follows: “The King appoints the chairman of the army’s Joint Chiefs-of-Staff and the General Intelligence Department director without abiding by the mechanism outlined in Article 40 of the Constitution.”

The government draft of this part in the amendments had read: “Despite what has been stated in Article 40 of the Constitution, the King appoints the chairman of the army’s Joint Chiefs-of-Staff and the General Intelligence Department director.”

The King currently appoints the army and intelligence chiefs upon a recommendation from the government, and the amendment aims to give the King sole authority to appoint them to avoid subjecting the two positions to potential “political bickering” that may arise with the practice of parliamentary governments, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour told deputies on Tuesday. 

The Lower House is scheduled to discuss the committee’s recommendations on Sunday.

The panel endorsed the second amendment, which expands the jurisdiction of the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) to administer municipal polls and any other elections assigned by the government, without any changes.

Speaking at the committee’s meeting, Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs Ahmad Ziadat explained that this change is aimed at enabling the IEC to manage any public elections, including parliamentary and municipal polls. 

The amendment also grants the Cabinet the right to entrust the commission with administering any other elections, Ziadat added.

Enabling the King to appoint the army and intelligence chiefs directly bolsters the independence and impartiality of the army and the intelligence department by avoiding their embroilment in politics, the minister noted.

This is the second amendment to the nation’s Constitution in three years, after the 2011 amendments introduced changes to almost 25 per cent of the Constitution, which was first adopted in 1952.