Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday instructed the government to amend the kingdom's controversial election law and ensure a transparent vote, a day after he dissolved parliament.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, the king instructed the government to immediately start preparations for legislative
elections and ensure that the upcoming elections are " transparent, fair, impartial and a bright stage in Jordan's reform process," according to a
statement released Tuesday.
The king ordered the government to take all measures to develop the electoral process, including amending the election law.
Introduced in 1993, the law is seen by opposition parties and the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, as
restrictive to their representation in the 110- seat lower house.
"The current law marginalizes the representation of political parties and the opposition and it seeks to empower pro-government deputies," former Islamist MP and former head of the Islamic movement bloc in the dissolved
lower house, Hamzah Mansour, told Xinhua.
In August 1993, the Jordanian parliament passed an amendment to the election law which adjusted the country's electoral system to the principle of "one-man-one-vote." The current law into effect ended the previous voting system, whereby voters were entitled to as many votes as the number of parliamentary seats allocated for their districts.
The lower house dissolved Monday was repeatedly criticized by the media for its "ineffectiveness and weak performance in monitoring and endorsing legislation."