Lower House considers Palestinian issue national cause — Tarawneh

AMMAN — To mark 30 years since the start of the democratic experience and the revival of parliamentary life in Jordan, the Centre for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) on Monday hosted Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh for a media forum.

During the forum, held at Zain Innovation Campus, Tarawneh highlighted the Lower House's efforts over the past few years and the advances made in politics, pointing to an increase of women in Parliament. 

In regards to the Palestinian cause, Tarawneh said that the Lower House deals with it as a national cause, and not one of a neighbouring country, as it constantly affirms its stances condemning all violations against Al Aqsa Mosque. 

During the forum, CDFJ Executive President Nidal Mansour asked Tarawneh to explain why the Lower House’s trust rate is 16 per cent among citizens, even with the achievements he had mentioned. 

In reply, Tarawneh said that only 40 per cent of those who can vote headed to polling centres in order to cast their ballots for the 1,400 candidates. 

Therefore, the 1,270 candidates who did not win have a wide base of followers who do not support the 130 winners of the election, according to Tarawneh, urging people to vote during elections.

In reply to a question about Jordan's participation in the Bahrain conference and whether Tarawneh personally, or as the Lower House speaker, approves of it, he said that the Lower House is against the "deal of the century" no matter what form it takes and that he personally believes Jordan should not have represented itself at the conference. 

Nonetheless, he clarified that the secretary general of the Ministry of Finance did not participate or give any speeches whatsoever, noting that he was just an "eyewitness who reported what happened there to ensure everything is clear". 

On the new Election Law amendments, Tarawneh said that reports are conflicting as some say the amendments are shallow and others state the amendments are comprehensive, but he said any changes would most likely not be big. 

The Lower House speaker also said that nothing is threatening Jordan's stability, because Jordanians are politically aware, who work together for the higher national interest, citing the "deal of the century" and how His Majesty King Abdullah and all Jordanians stood against it. 

He said that Jordan is still resilient in spite of all the economic issues facing it, adding that they cannot get any worse than they already are.