US embassy cable - 03AMMAN4251

UNCLAS AMMAN 004251 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, JO 
SUBJECT: PLANS FOR MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS MOVE FORWARD, 
DESPITE OBJECTIONS 
 
REF: AMMAN 4189 
 
1.  A controversial amendment to Jordan,s Municipal Law has 
come under fire from nearly a third of the members of the 
country,s newly elected parliament. Between 30 and 40 MPs 
have signed and circulated a petition calling on the 
government to delay the country,s municipal elections, 
scheduled for July 26.  They plan to present the petition to 
the government once Parliament convenes on 16 July. 
 
2.  The November 2002 temporary law authorizes the government 
to appoint mayors and up to half of the council members in 
the country,s 99 municipalities.  The petition drive is 
being spearheaded by Islamic Action Front (IAF) MPs, whose 
party recently announced its intentions to boycott all 
municipal elections outside Amman (reported reftel).  All 18 
IAF MPs, in addition to a number of independent members, have 
lent their signatures to this initiative. 
 
3.  Despite the protest, Municipal, Rural, and Environmental 
Affairs Minister Abdul Razzaq Tbeishat announced that the 
government would proceed with its preparations for municipal 
elections and hold them as scheduled.  Having not seen the 
petition himself, the minister refused to comment on it.  He 
stressed that the amendment to the Municipal Law in November 
2002, one of hundreds of &temporary laws8 promulgated by 
GOJ while Parliament was dissolved, was part of a 
comprehensive restructuring plan for the financially strapped 
and administratively challenged municipal sector.  The 
government began the plan in 2001, securing additional funds 
for municipalities and reducing their number by more than 
two-thirds. 
 
4.  Contrary to rumors ripe in the capital, &no appointments 
(to municipal councils) have been made so far,8 insisted 
Tbeishat.  He said the government had decided to appoint 460 
members, including mayors, and give the public a chance to 
elect 536 members.  Before last year,s amendment, mayors and 
all municipal council members were elected.  The government 
has rebuffed critics of its amendment, arguing the measure 
had to be adopted as part of its municipal restructuring 
program to make municipalities both financially viable and 
more responsive to public needs. 
GNEHM