Lawyer Abdul Monem Odat has become the newly elected Speaker of Jordan’s House of Representatives.
Lawmakers had called for consensus on Odat, but MP Mohammed Inad Fayez insisted on running for the post to convey a positive democratic message to the public.
Odat received 84 votes while Fayez got only 26 during the 19th Parliament’s non-ordinary session on Thursday.
The number of MPs attending the session was 115, while 15 lawmakers were absent and five votes were cancelled.
Odat is an MP from Irbid governorate, 80 km north of the capital. He has previously won in the 17th and 18th chambers and has headed the parliament’s legal committee for multiple terms.
A number of MPs who had tested positive for COVID-19 attended Thursday’s session, sparking wide controversy, especially after one of them announced running for the post of deputy speaker.
PCR tests were conducted for MPs, elders, and ministers before the session, and according to the results, 19 of them tested positive for the virus.
Although they were not invited to the parliament, three MPs insisted on attending the first session following the King’s speech, who reiterated Jordan’s position on the Palestinian cause, noting that “denying the Palestinian people their just and legitimate rights is the very reason our region continues to suffer conflict and instability.”
“Achieving just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution is our strategic choice, and it must guarantee the establishment of an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 border lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
He renewed Jordan’s commitment to protect the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, stressing that the “Hashemite custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites is a duty, a commitment, a firm belief and a responsibility we have proudly undertaken for more a decade.”
King Abdullah said Jerusalem is the symbol of peace, rejecting any attempts to alter its historical and legal status quo.
He urged on prioritizing the health and wellbeing of citizens and continuing to safeguard the national economy by setting plans, work programs and applicable decisions as part of addressing the coronavirus pandemic and its repercussions.
