A Jordanian voter gets her finger inked during the January 28 elections. Secretary of State John Kerry praised the vote as a “huge first step” for Jordan’s political reforms.

By Stephen Kaufman
IIP Staff Writer
Washington,
February 13, 2013

Speaking in Washington February 13 with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Kerry said an “important milestone … has been passed” with the election of Jordan’s new 150-member House of Deputies.

According to Jordan’s Independent Elections Commission, about 1.3 million Jordanians went to the polls, representing 56.6 percent of the country’s registered voters.

The turnout “is higher than any time previously, which shows a full and robust participation by the Jordanian people in the election process,” Kerry said.

Kerry said he spoke with King Abdullah II earlier in the day, and that he and Foreign Minister Judeh said they are both deeply committed to Jordan’s reform process and now plan to “form a government and begin to engage with the blocs of the parliament.”

He also noted that in the context of other political transitions taking place in the region, the king and his government have “really worked hard to maintain a peaceful approach to their reform, an important level of stability and engagement with all of the stakeholders in Jordan.”

Judeh said a consultation period is now under way in Jordan to form the next government and bring about “consensual, more representative parliamentary governance.”

“This process is irreversible,” Judeh said.

The parliamentary elections marked the second phase of King Abdullah’s reforms, following a revision of the country’s constitution, the enactment of new laws and the establishment of an independent commission to conduct Jordan’s elections.

“The next phase is the process by which a government is formed,” Judeh said. The consultation process will result in a “consensual figure who will be appointed as prime minister,” followed by negotiations with other members of Jordan’s new parliament to name a Cabinet, and then parliamentary approval of the new government’s proposed political program.

“It’s exciting times for us,” he said. “When the government sits and we see the interplay between the government and the parliament, you would see a lot of reform-oriented policy and legislation taking shape.”