Senate endorses constitutional amendments

AMMAN  — The Senate on Thursday endorsed the 2014 constitutional amendments by an overwhelming majority as referred from the Lower House.

Of the 72 lawmakers present, only Senator Mohammand Azzeh voted "nay" for the amendments to Article 67 of the Constitution, which expanded the jurisdiction of the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) to administer parliamentary and municipal elections, in addition to any other polls assigned by the government.

Seventy senators voted in favour of the amendments to Article 127 of the Constitution, which gives the King the sole power to appoint and dismiss army and intelligence chiefs. Senator Azzeh also rejected the changes while Taher Kanaan abstained, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

On Sunday, 118 out of the 150 MPs voted in favour of the amendments after a heated debate over the rationale behind such a change in the basic law.

They expanded the proposed King’s powers under Article 127 to include ending the services and accepting resignations of the two commanders. This addition to the draft amendments came after Prime Minster Abdullah Ensour agreed to a proposal by veteran MP Abdul Karim Dughmi.

Subsequently, the relevant paragraph of Article 127 of the Constitution will read: “Despite what has been stated in Article 40 of the Constitution, the King appoints the chairman of the army’s Joint Chiefs-of-Staff and the General Intelligence Department director, and he ends their services and accept their resignations.”

As per the current Constitution, the King appoints the army and intelligence chiefs upon a recommendation from the government.

The new amendments came as part of the country’s drive to further speed up the political reform process to pave the way for the adoption of a parliamentary government system. 

The amendment also grants the Cabinet the right to assign the IEC with administering any other elections.

Also during the Sunday session, MPs voted in favour of an amendment of Paragraph 1 of the same article that restricts the army’s duty to defending the country and ensuring its safety.

The amendments to the Constitution, which went through drastic changes in 2011, await the King’s endorsement before they are published in the Official Gazette and become effective.