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.



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.