US embassy cable - 05AMMAN7679

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 007679 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/26/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KISL, JO 
SUBJECT: KING POSTPONES PARLIAMENTARY SESSION 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 7651 
 
     B. AMMAN 7498 
     C. 04 AMMAN 8195 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
1.  (SBU) The palace issued a decree September 25 postponing 
the start of the upcoming regular session of Parliament from 
October 1 until December 1.  The decree cited a section of 
Jordan's constitution that gives the King authority to delay 
the convocation of Parliament by up to two months.  The move 
was widely expected and is not unprecedented, as the palace 
had similarly postponed last year's parliamentary session 
until December (ref C).  Several MPs admitted to poloff that 
they welcomed the delay, conceding that very little work 
could otherwise be accomplished due to busy Ramadan social 
schedules.  MP Abdel Karim Dughmi (East Banker, Mafraq) - a 
traditionalist power broker in the Chamber of Deputies - told 
the press that he considered the postponement "normal" and an 
exercise of the King's "constitutional right." 
 
2.  (C) Other MPs were not as sanguine about the decree.  MP 
Ali Abul Sukkar (West Banker, Zarqa) of the Islamic Action 
Front (IAF) denounced the postponement, calling it "a 
suspension of the parliament's monitoring of the government." 
 Highly critical of the recent GOJ decision to further lift 
fuel subsidies (ref A), the IAF was seeking to gather 
signatures on a petition to the lower house Speaker 
requesting an extraordinary session of Parliament to discuss 
withdrawing confidence from PM Badran's government.  Had the 
IAF succeeded in gaining 56 signatures (i.e., over 50% of the 
110 MPs in the Chamber of Deputies) - a highly unlikely 
prospect - the King would have been under considerable 
political pressure to convene an extraordinary session, but 
would not have been constitutionally obliged to do so. 
(NOTE: Under the Jordanian constitution, only the King is 
able to convene Parliament.  Likewise, the King alone 
establishes the agenda of an extraordinary session.  END 
NOTE.) 
 
3.  (C) COMMENT: The decision to postpone the regular session 
of Parliament reflects both the ongoing National Agenda 
process (ref B) and the realities of Ramadan, during which 
legislators are notoriously distracted by social obligations 
and empty stomachs.  According to Deputy PM Muasher, who 
heads the commission drafting the Agenda, the document is 
currently being finalized - though debate on a new elections 
law continues - and should be approved by King Abdullah 
shortly for a public release in October.  As the National 
Agenda is expected to be the centerpiece of the next 
parliamentary session's agenda, it would make little sense 
for Parliament to convene before the document is unveiled and 
marketed to both MPs and the public.  END COMMENT. 
HALE