Jordan’s Cabinet Dissolves Local, Municipal Councils

A Jordanian woman casts her ballot at a polling station for local and municipal elections in Amman, Jordan. (Reuters/File)
A Jordanian woman casts her ballot at a polling station for local and municipal elections in Amman, Jordan. (Reuters/File)
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Jordan’s Cabinet Dissolves Local, Municipal Councils

A Jordanian woman casts her ballot at a polling station for local and municipal elections in Amman, Jordan. (Reuters/File)
A Jordanian woman casts her ballot at a polling station for local and municipal elections in Amman, Jordan. (Reuters/File)

The Jordanian Cabinet decided on Wednesday to dissolve municipal and local councils as well as the council of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM).

It also decided to set up ad hoc committees to run the affairs of municipalities and the GAM council during the coming period.

The cabinet didn’t make official statements to determine the election date, however sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that they might take place between August and October.

The decision reflects the Jordanian authorities’ keenness to commit to the elections’ deadline, despite the challenging conditions in the country and the surge in COVID-19 deaths and infections.

Reliable sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government prepared amendments to draft laws related to the local authority for the parliament to discuss next week.

The sources said the amendments might lead to reducing a number of council members by expanding the powers of administrative governors and requesting a university degree for membership eligibility .

The upcoming municipal elections are expected to take place amid a partial lockdown and the uncertain epidemiological situation in the country.

The Independent Election Commission, which is the national electoral commission responsible for administering and supervising elections under the Constitution of Jordan, has prepared measures for the elections that ban gatherings inside polling stations and counting centers.

More than 8,000 ballot boxes were distributed over approximately 4,000 centers in the kingdom.



Palestinians in Jenin Observe a General Strike

A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Palestinians in Jenin Observe a General Strike

A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinians in the volatile northern West Bank town of Jenin are observing a general strike called by militant groups to protest a rare crackdown by Palestinian security forces.
An Associated Press reporter in Jenin heard gunfire and explosions, apparently from clashes between militants and Palestinian security forces. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded. There was no sign of Israeli troops in the area.
Shops were closed in the city on Monday, the day after militants killed a member of the Palestinian security forces and wounded two others.
Militant groups called for a general strike across the territory, accusing the security forces of trying to disarm them in support of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally recognized but deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to act against armed groups.
The Palestinian Authority blamed Sunday’s attack on “outlaws.” It says it is committed to maintaining law and order but will not police the occupation.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
Israel’s current government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and says it will maintain open-ended security control over the territory. Violence has soared in the West Bank following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there.