Thursday, March 24, 2011

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II has blamed his appointed prime minister for delaying changes to the political system the monarch proposed as a response to calls for more democracy.

Abdullah told Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit in a written letter published in Jordanian dailies Wednesday that the reform process needs “decisive and quick” measures and he “will not accept any excuse” for delays.

The changes include a new electoral law to replace one that critics say favors the king’s loyalists and has produced a docile Parliament.
The prime minister has responsibility for pushing legislation through Parliament, the only elected body in Jordan’s government. Parliament has taken no action on drawing up reform bills since the king proposed them Feb. 9.

“The reform process needs decisive and quick measures as well as evaluation and follow-up,” the king told Bakhit. “The government must uproot corruption and bring the corrupt to justice – which is part of reforms.”

The powerful Islamist opposition urged the monarch Monday to carry out reforms similar to measures taken this month by his Moroccan counterpart.

The king of Morocco, Mohammad VI, “has announced reforms unilaterally and they are satisfactory,” Zaki Bani Rsheid, head of the political office of the Islamic Action Front, told AFP Monday.

Morocco’s king announced comprehensive reforms on March 9, including greater independence for the judiciary, enhanced powers for the prime minister, and the separation of powers, in an apparent move toward a constitutional monarchy.

Amman has formed a national dialogue committee to help speed up reforms, but this has been rejected by the Islamists who say the king himself should lead the process. – AP, AFP