Members of rejected political party to protest authorities' decision

AMMAN — Members of the under-establishment Jordanian civil coalition party will continue their "peaceful" protests against authorities' decision not to grant them a licence to form a political grouping.

"An internal memo was referred by the Justice Ministry to the Parties’ Affairs Committee ascribing the decision to the dark skin of the majority of its members," Ali Jazi, a representative of the projected party, told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

He noted that members of the under-establishment party will hold sit-ins to express their frustration over the decision.

"The idea of the party is to create a civil coalition initiated by the grassroots of marginalised and underprivileged areas of Jordan. These regions wanted to come up with their own ideas to serve the public good," said Jazi, a resident of Husseinieh District in Amman.

Meanwhile, Political and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Yousef Shawarbeh said the Parties' Affairs Committee, headed by the ministry, rejected the application in accordance with Article 5, Paragraph B of the Political Parties Law for the year 2015.

The paragraph stipulates that “no party is allowed to be formed on a religious, sectarian, ethnic or sub-demographic basis or on the basis of gender or origin”.

"Citizenship should be the core of any political party. Establishing a party that represents a specific sect, group or ethnic groups is illegal and violates the law and the Constitution," the minister told The Jordan Times, noting that the projected party in question has the right to challenge the decision within 60 days.

While Jazi reiterated that there are 192 founding members from across the Kingdom in the party, only 60 per cent of them have dark skin.

"We are not willing to go to court, because such an issue would tarnish Jordan's reputation and would be recorded against the country by international organisations," he noted.