December 23rd, 2009 by Jason

In The New York Times, Michael Slackman explores the recent decision by King Abdullah II of Jordan to dismiss his prime minister, dissolve parliament, and postpone elections for a year. The King’s actions were largely perceived as an attempt to remove an intransigent parliament in order to pass needed economic and financial reforms. While Abdullah also ordered the rewriting of the country’s unpopular election law, analysts and even governmental officials admit that it is unlikely the law will be substantively changed at the risk of increasing Islamist influence.

Democracy advocates therefore lament, according to Slackman, the “leadership’s continued intention to manipulate and suppress the political process.”  As Ali Dalian, an independent MP of the dissolved parliament put it, “The nature of humans is they want democracy. Since 1993, democracy in Jordan has been receding.”

Slackman cites political experts who observe, “Jordan’s actions are nothing out of the ordinary in the Middle East, where kings, emirs, sultans and presidents rely on elected institutions to claim legitimacy and give citizens the perception they have a stake in the direction of the state. But those institutions have little independent power or authority.”

Posted in Elections, Jordan, Legislation, Reform |