Jordan Sets Sept 10 Date for Parliamentary Election

King of Jordan Abdullah II speaks while making a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 16 February 2024. (Reuters)
King of Jordan Abdullah II speaks while making a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 16 February 2024. (Reuters)
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Jordan Sets Sept 10 Date for Parliamentary Election

King of Jordan Abdullah II speaks while making a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 16 February 2024. (Reuters)
King of Jordan Abdullah II speaks while making a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 16 February 2024. (Reuters)

Jordan's independent electoral commission on Wednesday set Sept. 10 as the date for a parliamentary election after King Abdullah said earlier he hoped the polls would deliver long promised political reforms, state media reported.

The monarch, who visited the electoral commission before the announcement, said the polls would be a major milestone towards trying to modernize the country's political system under revamped laws that encourage licensed parties to run in multi-party elections.

Under the constitution, the nationwide polls are held within four months of the end of a four-year term of parliament that formally ends in November. The country's last election was held in November 2020.

The head of the Independent Election Commission Musa Al Maaytah, who announced the date of the election, said there were more than 5 million eligible voters on its lists.

The election comes as the country is reeling from the impact of the war in Gaza that has hit tourism, a main pillar of the economy, and affected businesses.



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.