PLANS FOR MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS MOVE FORWARD,

UNCLAS AMMAN 004251

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM JO
SUBJECT: PLANS FOR MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS MOVE FORWARD,
DESPITE OBJECTIONS

REF: AMMAN 4189


1. A controversial amendment to Jordan,s Municipal Law has
come under fire from nearly a third of the members of the
country,s newly elected parliament. Between 30 and 40 MPs
have signed and circulated a petition calling on the
government to delay the country,s municipal elections,
scheduled for July 26. They plan to present the petition to
the government once Parliament convenes on 16 July.


2. The November 2002 temporary law authorizes the government
to appoint mayors and up to half of the council members in
the country,s 99 municipalities. The petition drive is
being spearheaded by Islamic Action Front (IAF) MPs, whose
party recently announced its intentions to boycott all
municipal elections outside Amman (reported reftel). All 18
IAF MPs, in addition to a number of independent members, have
lent their signatures to this initiative.


3. Despite the protest, Municipal, Rural, and Environmental
Affairs Minister Abdul Razzaq Tbeishat announced that the
government would proceed with its preparations for municipal
elections and hold them as scheduled. Having not seen the
petition himself, the minister refused to comment on it. He
stressed that the amendment to the Municipal Law in November
2002, one of hundreds of &temporary laws8 promulgated by
GOJ while Parliament was dissolved, was part of a
comprehensive restructuring plan for the financially strapped
and administratively challenged municipal sector. The
government began the plan in 2001, securing additional funds
for municipalities and reducing their number by more than
two-thirds.


4. Contrary to rumors ripe in the capital, &no appointments
(to municipal councils) have been made so far,8 insisted
Tbeishat. He said the government had decided to appoint 460
members, including mayors, and give the public a chance to
elect 536 members. Before last year,s amendment, mayors and
all municipal council members were elected. The government
has rebuffed critics of its amendment, arguing the measure
had to be adopted as part of its municipal restructuring
program to make municipalities both financially viable and
more responsive to public needs.
GNEHM