GOJ SUBMITS NEW MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS LAW TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002119 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM KWMN JO SUBJECT: GOJ SUBMITS NEW MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS LAW TO PARLIAMENT REF: A. AMMAN 02016 ¶B. AMMAN 01430 Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The GOJ submitted a new municipal elections law to parliament on March 20, accompanied by a request that it be given priority status. The draft law provides for the direct election of all mayors and municipal council members in Jordan, except for the capital of Amman. The bill also sets a 20% quota for women in municipal councils, and allows for appointed city managers with the power to prepare budgets and monitor the expenditure of funds. As the current session of parliament will end April 1, parliamentary debate on the municipal elections bill will likely have to wait until MPs reconvene for an "extraordinary session." End Summary. -------------- MUNICIPAL ELECTORAL REFORM MOVES FORWARD -------------- ¶2. (SBU) After months of internal wrangling within the GOJ (ref B),the Prime Ministry submitted a draft municipal elections law to parliament on March 20, accompanied by a request that the law be given priority status for quick action. As widely predicted, the legislation mandates the direct election of all mayors and municipal council members in Jordan's 99 municipalities, in contrast to the current system whereby all mayors and half of council members are appointed by the GOJ. The bill also lowers the voting age for municipal elections from 19 to 18. The mayor of the Greater Amman Municipality will continue to be appointed by the GOJ, as will half the members of Amman's city council. NOTE: Prior to 2003, all mayors and municipal council members in Jordan - except for Amman - were directly elected. END NOTE. The law further divides municipalities into four different categories, based primarily on population. Candidates for mayor in larger cities (i.e., cities in categories one and two) will need a university degree to run for office. Mayoral candidates for towns in the third category are required to have a secondary school certificate, while those running for mayor in the smallest municipalities - the fourth category - will need only to be able to read and write. NOTE: Currently, almost all of the mayors in Jordan, appointed by the government, are university graduates. END NOTE. ¶3. (U) The draft law further provides that 20% of seats in each council be set aside for women. If there are not enough female candidates to fill these seats, the needed number of women will be appointed by the government. The Minister of Municipalities, with the approval of the Prime Minister, has the discretion to appoint an additional two members to each municipal council. ¶4. (U) Under the bill, the Prime Minister, upon the recommendation of the Minister of Municipalities, would be given authority to appoint a city manager ("municipality director") for any town in Jordan, not including the capital. These managers would be charged with implementing city council decisions, preparing budgets, supervising municipal properties, and monitoring the spending of city funds. NOTE: Municipal funds in Jordan are allocated by the GOJ; cities have no independent taxation authority. END NOTE. The bill is silent on the date of the next municipal elections, stating only that mayors and council members will serve a four-year term. NOTE: The term for current mayors and councils will end in 2007. END NOTE. -------------- INITIAL REACTIONS -------------- ¶5. (C) Influential MP Abdul Karim Al-Dughmi (East Banker, Mafraq) told poloff March 21 that he would actively oppose giving the municipal elections bill priority status. "If the government is so anxious to get this law passed, they should not have sat on it for so long," he quipped. Dughmi added that the GOJ did not "fully understand" that passage of the law would result in Islamist candidates taking control of many Jordanian cities. At a lunch poloff attended on March 21, MP Suleiman Obeidat (East Banker, Irbid) said he had "no objections" to the draft law, but was against placing it at the top of parliament's agenda. MP Hatem Sarayreh (East Banker, Kerak) chided the GOJ for not consulting with parliament on the bill, and stated he would need to examine the law more closely as the appointment of city mangers was "troubling" to him. ¶6. (C) In a March 22 conversation with Ambassador, former PM and current Senator Fayez Al-Tarawneh expressed concern that the Islamic Action Front (IAF),the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, would win control of municipal governments in Jordan's largest cities - where support for the IAF is concentrated - under the proposed law. He confided that he and other legislators were considering amendments to the bill that would preserve the appointment of mayors and half of council members in Zarqa and Irbid -- the two most populous cities after Amman. ¶7. (C) During a March 20 visit to the town of Umm Qays in northern Jordan, poloff asked the mayor and council members whether they supported the direct election of municipal leaders. All of them responded affirmatively, including the four of the eight members appointed by the government. "There should be no difference between us," said one appointed member, "so let's have everyone elected." NOTE: Support for the IAF in Umm Qays, whose residents are almost entirely East Bankers, is low. END NOTE. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) Given the sentiments of Dughmi and other MPs, it is unlikely that parliament will debate municipal electoral reform before the end of its current session on April 1. While the next regular session of parliament will not, under the constitution, begin until October 1 at the earliest, contacts predict that the King will call an "extraordinary" session later this spring. HALE