‘Proposal to extend House speaker term gaining traction’

AMMAN — A group of MPs are now gaining support to request a constitutional amendment to extend the term of the Lower House speaker to two years instead of one, a lawmaker said on Saturday.

MP Abdullah Khawaldeh (Jerash, 1st District) said there is now consensus among a group of deputies on the need to extend the term of the House speaker to two years, citing the importance of the move in maintaining order and momentum in the legislature's conduct.

“It is still an idea,” Khawaldeh told The Jordan Times, adding that “work is under way now to gain more support to transform it into a fully fledged request for constitutional amendment”.

He also explained that if the term of the House speaker had not been stipulated in the Constitution, the request would have been only to amend the Chamber’s bylaws.

According to Article 69 of the Constitution: “The Chamber of Deputies shall elect its Speaker at the beginning of each ordinary session for a period of one calendar year, but he may be re-elected.”

“MPs waste a lot of time at the beginning of each ordinary session in electing the House speaker,” Khawaldeh said.

In reference to the 2011 constitutional amendments, the MP noted that the frequent amendments to the Constitution should not be viewed as a sign of weakness in the charter but as a necessary procedure in response to political changes and in service of the democratisation process.