King to inaugurate 19th Parliament’s third ordinary session today

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah is scheduled to open the third ordinary session of the 19th Parliament on Wednesday, where he will deliver the Speech from the Throne.

The Upper House will later convene to elect members of the committee to reply to the Speech from the Throne. The Lower House will also elect members of its 20 permanent committees, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Recent amendments to the bylaws of the Lower House stipulate that one of the members of the Permanent Office must be a female deputy. Paragraph (B) of Article 7 states: "If a woman does not win the post of president or one of the two vice-presidents, the right to stand for one of the vice presidencies shall be reserved for a woman."

The Lower Chamber then elects a panel to draft a reply to the Speech from the Throne, which must be approved by the House before being presented to the King.

Under the Constitution, the two Houses of Parliament have 14 days to set their responses to the King’s Speech from the Throne.