GOJ LAUNCHES PUBLIC FINANCING FOR POLITICAL PARTIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002653 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2018 TAGS: PGOV KDEM JO SUBJECT: GOJ LAUNCHES PUBLIC FINANCING FOR POLITICAL PARTIES REF: A. AMMAN 2337 ¶B. AMMAN 1446 ¶C. AMMAN 1139 ¶D. AMMAN 535 AMMAN 00002653 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. On September 2, Jordan's cabinet approved regulations which allow the launch of a public fund for political parties. Ever since a new law on political parties went into force in April, the fund has been the subject of much speculation among the parties and wrangling between different parts of the government (reftels). The size of the fund is unexpectedly small - around one-fifth of the previously anticipated amount. The new regulations also restrict how the money can be spent. Delays in the fund's launch and the opacity of its formation contributed to predictable conspiracy theories, along with criticism from the Islamist camp. The marginalization of the Ministry of Political Development in the process of regulatory formation demonstrates the bureaucratic might of the Interior Ministry and Minister Eid Al-Fayez in particular. End Summary. Pennies From Heaven -------------- ¶2. (SBU) According to press reports, the newly created fund for public financing of political parties will disburse JD 50,000 (USD 70,000) annually to each registered party. The money will be released in two installments, one in January and one in June. The first batch of payments, which will cover the remainder of 2008, is scheduled to be disbursed in October, once the regulations are finalized. It is unclear whether the amount of money will change over time, but Hakim Khreishat, who works on political party issues at the Ministry of Political Development (MOPD),told POLOFF that the amounts will likely remain constant for at least the first two years. ¶3. (SBU) Based on these numbers, the total allocation for the fund will only be JD 800,000 (USD 1.1 million) per year - a far cry from the five million dinars (seven million dollars) allocated by the government in the national budget. According to Khreishat, the discrepancy is due to the "unanticipated" drop in the number of political parties after the new law governing their existence went into force. He said that money allocated for the fund that remains unspent at the end of the fiscal year will simply roll over. ¶4. (SBU) The new regulations also impose restrictions on the parties' use of the money. Parties are authorized to spent the money on salaries, buildings, publications, and event planning, but little else. The regulations provide for a monitoring and reporting regime which will require reporting every six months on how the money was spent. Reaction -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Predictably, conspiracy theories about the fund are already swirling. Conventional wisdom has it that the government held back the launch of the fund until Lower House Speaker Abdulhadi Majali's National Trend transformed itself into a political party (Ref A). Supporters of this theory find evidence for it in Minister of Political Development Kemal Nasser's known sympathy for the party. Another theory on the fund's delayed launch is that the government was looking for a way to avoid giving any public support to the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, the Islamic Action Front (IAF). Indeed, Interior Minister Eid Al-Fayez issued a not-so-subtle warning to the IAF when he announced the release of funding, saying that parties would have to "abide by the law" in order to be eligible for the money. Further speculation is brewing over what will happen with the unused portion of the money allocated in the budget for the fund. ¶6. (SBU) Seizing on the announcement, the IAF issued a soberly legalistic statement on its website, faulting the government for launching the fund before the necessary regulations were endorsed by the King and published in the Official Gazette. Pointing out that Article 19 of the law provides for "mechanisms and methods of disbursement based on a regulation that will be issued for this purpose," the IAF argued (correctly) that the money is being handed out before the regulatory framework has gone through the necessary bureaucratic procedure. IAF Secretary General Zaki Bani-Irshaid subsequently sent a letter to Prime Minister Nader Dahabi asking for a copy of the regulation, which has still not been published. Ruhail Gharaibeh, an IAF MP, also criticized the distribution of equal funds to "effective and ineffective" parties alike, a move that he said "lacks AMMAN 00002653 002.2 OF 002 justice and does not contribute to the development of party action." Turf Wars -------------- ¶7. (C) According to MOPD official Khreishat, bureaucratic turf wars were the primary cause of the fund's delayed launch. While the fund would seem to fall squarely into the bailiwick of the Ministry of Political Development, Minister of Interior Fayez remained firmly in the driver's seat throughout the process of developing regulations. Khreishat told poloffs that, for example, MOPD's efforts to insert into the regulations provisions to incentivize parties' inclusion of women and youth were rebuffed by MOI, with Fayez ultimately bypassing Minister Nasser and bringing the regulations directly to the cabinet for approval. Visit Amman's Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman Beecroft