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AMMAN — The Lower House on Tuesday endorsed a provision in the draft municipalities law granting the government the right to dissolve an elected municipal council before completing its four-year term upon a recommendation by the concerned minister.
Resuming their deliberations over the bill, a majority of MPs rejected a proposal by the House legal and administrative committees to link the dissolution of the elected municipal and local councils to a recommendation by a panel comprising the municipal affairs minister, the district governor, head of the First Instance Court, representatives of the Jordan Bar Association and the dissolved council.
During the session, some lawmakers demanded that the decision to dissolve an elected municipal council be taken by the judiciary while others requested that the dissolution decision be taken by a joint committee and not only by the minister.
Attending the session, Municipal Affairs Minister Walid Masri said that the government is, in principle, against disbanding municipal councils but it might need to do so if they fail to perform their duties or convene.
Some MPs also demanded that the women’s quota be removed from the law, arguing that women can make it to municipal councils without any exceptions.
Twenty-five per cent of municipal seats should be held by women under the draft law.
The proposal failed when a majority of the 150-strong House’s MPs insisted on keeping the quota in the law untouched.
