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The King’s five discussion papers

Nov 04,2014 - Last updated at Nov 04,2014

From December 29, 2012, until September 14, 2014, His Majesty King Abdullah has authored and published five important papers that dealt specifically with democracy, parliamentary government and political reform in Jordan.

The papers were not meant, as one would perhaps expect, to be non-negotiable head of state directives to the concerned authorities. Rather, they were intended to stir wide public debate on their substantial content. 

Clearly, as the papers reflect, His Majesty wanted the Jordanian democratic experiment to be deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of all Jordanians and to have our democracy mature as a national culture, as well as an outcome of solid citizen consensus.

The Monarch did not want our democracy to merely be a set of detached rules and regulatory instructions and elections; he wanted it to be part of the Jordanian tradition, now and for the benefit of future generations.

Reform, all types of reform, the Jordanian leader repeatedly affirms, is an ongoing process, not a one-time transaction.

In the last three years, a great deal of political, constitutional, legal and economic reform has been completed, at the King’s urging, and yet the King is pressing for more, until Jordan reaches full parliamentary multi-party power-sharing government.

It is a long way to go, maybe due to the absence, so far, of fully formed political parties, but the King’s resolve and his clarity of vision are the perfect recipe for a promising, a compact and a secure political future.

Already, and in record time, major political steps have been taken with amendments of about one-third of all the articles of the Jordanian Constitution, the establishment of the Constitutional Court and the Independent Elections Commission, to cite just some.

The process surges ahead.

Besides the fact that the Royal papers illustrate a number of basic principles for political reform, parliamentary system of government and the promotion of the concept of citizenry, they affirm other unique features of the Jordanian experience.

In line with a well-known Hashemite tradition, reform in this country is generally initiated and led by the top leadership; it does not come as a response to popular pressure; it preceded the so-called Arab Spring and the uprisings demanding reform in other Arab countries; and it has been ambitious, radical and comprehensive.

The King’s reform scheme has cleared the way of any taboos or hindrances ahead of the roadmap his papers introduced.

While in this short article it is only possible to highlight some of the great ideas presented in the papers, I believe every Jordanian should study their profound content and debate it among themselves, not just read it.

I strongly believe the Royal papers should be available in schools as part of the curriculum. 

We often say that democracy and democratic principles cannot be introduced by regulations and government decrees, but should start at home and early school days.

Here we have a five-part document that specifically addresses such an essential educating tool.

In the fifth paper, “Goals, achievements and conventions: pillars of deepening our democratic transition”, written on September 13, 2014, the end goal is defined as a “vibrant Jordanian democracy founded on three pillars, a gradual deepening of parliamentary government under the umbrella of our constitutional monarchy, underpinned by active public participation or what I called active citizenship”.

The first paper (December 29, 2012) came at a time when the country was engaged in election campaigning for the current House of Representatives.

Echoing public discontent with previous practices of some elected representatives who put their interests ahead of those of their country and their constituencies, the King advised that “candidates are not running for the right to sit in Parliament in Amman and earn personal benefits. They are running to be given a responsibility and a privilege: the national duty of making key choices on some of the most important decisions facing our country, decisions that will impact the future of every Jordanian”.

And there was advice to the public, too, with the King stressing how important it is for the voters not to engage only with the candidates, but also with “each other on all issues”.

“We need to embrace political life as a fair and a noble competition to generate the best ideas and solutions,” His Majesty said.

To those who chose not to engage in the democratic practice and to boycott elections instead, the King’s message was very clear: democracy is based on compromise, rather than winners and losers. Both those who win and those who do not form a complementary political whole of checks and balances.

That is the parliamentary democracy the King is seeking, where the winning majority would run government while the opposition, the shadow government, would provide the constructive balance.

“No individual or group will get everything it wants,” the King wrote in his first paper, adding: “We must strike compromises to make the best possible choices for all Jordanians.”

The King specifically warned against allowing “disagreements, whether personal or political” to translate themselves “ineffectively in political intransigence, violence, or boycotts which do not necessarily deliver desired goals”, affirming that “democratic practice requires constructive engagement and acceptance of a diversity of opinion”.

While these are just a few highlights of a comprehensive Royal thesis, the papers address every other related issue, such as tolerance, equality regardless of citizens’ origin, ethnicity, religion or any other difference; accountability, respect for the ideas and positions of the others, irrespective of disagreement and opposite view points.

I do not know whether the King’s papers are complete or we should, hopefully, expect more. Whatever the case, it would be enormously valuable to have them printed in few languages in a handy political guide for all Jordanians and many interested others.

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