JORDANIAN PARLIAMENT FINISHES EXTRAORDINARY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 006491 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2013 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ECON JO SUBJECT: JORDANIAN PARLIAMENT FINISHES EXTRAORDINARY SESSION; LOTS OF TALK, BUT MUCH BUSINESS LEFT UNDONE REF: A. AMMAN 06027 ¶B. AMMAN 05339 ¶C. AMMAN 05245 ¶D. AMMAN 05012 ¶E. AMMAN 04408 Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for Reasons 1.5 (B, D) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The 14th Jordanian Parliament ended its 75 day "extraordinary session" on September 28. While the Parliament discussed a wide variety of topics and took several important procedural steps, including the election of Speaker, the formation of committees and the approval of a new Cabinet, it formally reviewed only 20 of the more than 200 provisional laws promulgated by the government during Parliament's absence. Several political blocs were formed, but only the Islamic Action Front (IAF) represented a coherent body with a defined agenda. Political observers and MPs stressed the need for more structured debate and attention to issues if Parliament is to complete its review of legislation. The government expects Parliament to ratify eventually two provisional laws affecting women's rights after it reconvenes in December. End Summary. -------------- THAT'S A WRAP! -------------- ¶2. (U) The extraordinary session of the 14th Jordanian Parliament began on July 16 and was adjourned on September 28 by Royal Decree from King Abdullah. During this session, the 110 MPs of the Lower House (more than 80 of them elected for the first time) voted Saad Hayel Srour (East Banker, Northern Badia) as Speaker for a fifth time (ref e),and delivered a vote of confidence for the government of Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb (ref c). The Lower House also formed 14 committees of 11 MPs each, which, in theory, monitor government performance and issue recommendations on pending legislation. ¶3. (U) Although the extraordinary session was convened to consider the 200 plus provisional laws adopted since the dissolution of the previous Parliament, MPs managed to review formally only 20 of them. Some of these 20 laws were ratified, most notably the General State Budget for 2003, while others were sent to the appropriate committee for study without a vote. The Lower House initially rejected four provisional laws, including the "khuloe" law permitting women to divorce their husbands and a provision stiffening penalties for "honor killings" (refs a,d). -------------- CAN WE TALK? -------------- ¶4. (C) Parliamentary debates amounted to "organized disorder," by our observation. Although most individual sessions are supposed to have an established agenda, in reality MPs brought up a wide variety of issues and/or questions, leading to discussions that strayed far from the designated topic. Attendance varied widely. During the final day of the extraordinary session, for example, only 60 MPs were present and covered subjects that included: the recall of Jordan's envoy to Israel, Israeli development of weapons of mass destruction, Jordanian detainees in Iraq, the privatization of the state potash and phosphate companies, the recent victory of Jordan's national soccer team over Iran, and an IAF proposal to ban the U.S. film "Bruce Almighty" for making fun of God. ¶5. (C) The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are expected to attend every fifth daily session of Parliament to field MP questions. This arrangement works out to about twice a month, though in practice it is sometimes more. Ministers complain sharply about the additional demands on their time, and the resulting decrease in efficiency, by having to sit through lengthy debates that are often not of relevance to their portfolios. -------------- POLITICAL PARTY OR SOCIAL CLUB? -------------- ¶6. (C) Within MP ranks, six blocs emerged which encompassed approximately 90 of the 110 MPs. Apart from the IAF (which has 17 deputies in Parliament),however, the lack of strong, shared goals and the primacy of personal interests limited bloc cohesiveness. In the opinion of the former Secretary General of the Lower House and the head of the Jordanian Political Science Association, Mohammad Masalha, the blocs do not represent genuine political alliances, but are merely groups of deputies brought together on the basis of relationships rather than a unified political vision. Only the IAF, in Masalha's view, is "working according to a party agenda with a defined political program." -------------- THREE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES -------------- ¶7. (U) A recent article in the local Arabic press presented the viewpoints of three diverse MPs on the extraordinary session ) one from the IAF, one from the Democratic Alliance (the most promising of the MP blocs),and an independent. Azzam Al-Hunaidi (East Banker, Amman 1st District),head of the IAF bloc in Parliament, struck a mostly moderate tone in his assessment. While noting that it was "still too early to judge" the new MPs, Hunaidi characterized Parliament's performance during the extraordinary session as "acceptable" and stated that there had been decent progress on review of the temporary laws. Hunaidi criticized, however, the "ineffective management" of the daily sessions, saying there was too much "chaos." Hunaidi further asserted that Parliament needed to be more independent of the government and decried strong pressure for personal favors from constituents, contending that this took up too much time and detracted from the work of MPs. ¶8. (U) Independent MP Abdul Rahim Malhas (East Banker, Amman 3rd District) echoed Hunaidi's view that there was weak administrative control of parliamentary sessions and said that procedural reform was sorely needed for more effective debate. Malhas also agreed that MPs were too distracted by numerous service requests from their constituents. Malhas took aim at MPs for their numerous and lengthy speeches during the vote of confidence debate (see ref c). ¶9. (U) Characterizing Parliament as having "great potential," Dr. Mamdouh Abbadi (East Banker, Amman 3rd District),leader of the Democratic Alliance, nevertheless opined that Parliament's performance during the extraordinary session had been "okay." Abbadi asserted that loose control of daily sessions and &governmental interruptions8 had hindered progress and made MPs hesitant to take strong stands. Yet he predicted that as MPs gained experience, they would become more confident in "carrying the message from the public." Abbadi also stated that the number of temporary laws discussed was "good," taking into account the number of new MPs and new committees. Abbadi saved his harshest words for the time demands put on MPs by their constituents asking for services. According to Abbadi, MPs often have no time to read laws, session agendas or even the press as they are too busy running around between government ministries trying to provide requested services. -------------- GOVERNMENT VIEW -------------- ¶10. (C) Ambassador met with Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Tawfiq Kreishan, on October 5 to elicit the government's opinion on the new MPs and the extraordinary session. Overall, Kreishan stated that he was very satisfied with this Parliament, claiming that it was "the best of the last four Parliaments." Noting that there were more educated professionals, lawyers, and ex-generals than in previous Parliaments (in addition to six women),Kreishan said that in his view, 70-75 of MPs were "very strong." (COMMENT: This number corresponds roughly to the 84 MPs who supported the government in the vote of confidence. End comment.) Kreishan also took satisfaction that there were only 17 IAF members in Parliament, and although he admitted that the majority of these were &okay,8 he happily observed that the number of "opposition" MPs was lower than in prior years. (BIO NOTE: Tawfiq Kreishan is from a large and influential tribal family around Ma'an. He is 56 years old and speaks limited English. He previously served in the 12th Jordanian Parliament and was a Minister of Municipal, Rural and Environmental Affairs.) -------------- STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE KING -------------- ¶11. (C) During the course of the extraordinary session, King Abdullah met with three separate groups of approximately 22 MPs each, with a fourth meeting held on October 6. MPs who have attended these meetings, as well as Kreishan, characterized them as unstructured brainstorming sessions, with the King enumerating problems (particularly economic) facing the country and soliciting ideas from MPs on how to solve them. Kreishan said that in one meeting, King Abdullah told the MPs to "forget I'm the King" and asked them how Jordan could better attract foreign investment. In addition to generating ideas, Kreishan remarked that the meetings were meant to establish good relations between MPs and the Palace and to show that the King is serious about his commitment to democracy. Kreishan noted that King Abdullah is considering future meetings with the leadership and/or members of Parliamentary blocs. -------------- A LOOK AHEAD -------------- ¶12. (C) Parliament will reconvene for its regular session, which should last approximately four months, on December 1. One of the session's most important, and potentially divisive, tasks will be reviewing and approving the government's 2004 draft budget. Under the Jordanian Constitution, MPs will have to select once again both the Speaker of the Lower House and the chairmen and members of the parliamentary committees. As before, MPs and political observers expect a battle for the role of Speaker between Srour and former Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali (East Banker, Karak). Minister Kreishan confided that he thought Srour would ultimately prevail. Several MPs also predicted to PolCouns less politeness and more heated words in the upcoming session. As long time MP Abdul Karim Dughmi (East Banker, Mafraq) remarked, "the honeymoon is over." ¶13. (U) Given the large number of provisional laws, it is unlikely that Parliament will review all of them before adjourning. Abbadi stated that he expected that "we will get through 60-70 laws since we got through 20 in the last two months." Consequently, Abbadi predicted that Parliament will have yet another extraordinary session after the regular session in order to complete debate on all provisional laws. Both the King and the Lower House have a constitutional right to call Parliament to convene in an extraordinary session, although the King alone holds the right to set the agenda during that period. ¶14. (C) With respect to provisional laws concerning women's rights, Minister Kreishan predicted that the "khuloe" law permitting women to divorce their husbands would be approved by Parliament within two months after it reconvenes. Similarly, Kreishan told Ambassador that he had been personally charged to work for parliamentary approval of the Article 340 amendment stiffening penalties for so-called "honor killings" (see ref a),and predicted that it would ultimately be ratified by a joint session of Parliament. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶15. (C) The return of Parliament after more than a two year absence is a welcome development in the gradual process of democratization in Jordan. Yet the extraordinary session was certainly not a prime example of an efficient legislature ) much more time was spent debating the evils of pop culture or the weight of children's school bags (see ref b) than more important topics. This may be partly due to the fact that the many first-time MPs are still feeling their way through their new surroundings and responsibilities. ¶16. (C) As evidenced by his recent meetings with MPs, King Abdullah appears eager to help "guide" the development of democracy in Jordan. He has often stated that he wants Jordan to become a modern, democratic state with active political parties. But herein lies the King's dilemma. While he may want to see the creation of genuine political parties, he cannot compel MPs to forge strong alliances based on nation-wide principles, especially when this may conflict with deeply-entrenched individual and tribal interests. Similarly, a democratic society cannot be dictated from above, but requires the mobilization of citizens who believe that their participation in the political process can make a difference. It is questionable, moreover, how strongly King Abdullah would embrace a more democratic system if it resulted in vigorous opposition to his government's policies. Please visit Embassy Amman's classified website at http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman or access the site through the Department of State's SIPRNET home page. GNEHM