Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday tasked his chief of staff with forming a new government shortly after the incumbent prime minister resigned following parliamentary elections on September 10, the palace said. Under the constitution, the government resigns after the parliamentary elections, but the king appoints the prime minister, not parliament, which has limited powers. “King Abdullah on Sunday tasked Jafar Hassan with forming a new government”the Palace said in a statement.
Jafar Hassan, 56, replaces Bicher Khasawneh, who has led the government since October 2020 and who earlier submitted his resignation to the king, according to state television. Director of King Abdullah II’s office, the new head of government has notably held the position of Minister of Planning.
In a letter published by the Palace, King Abdullah II called on the prime minister-designate to “to make every effort to support the determination of our Palestinian brothers on their land and defend their rights.” He also called on the new head of government to “to work with all our energy at the Arab and international level to protect the Palestinian people, and to put an end to the aggressions and flagrant violations of humanitarian principles and international law.”
Sluggish economy and war in the Gaza Strip
In Tuesday’s parliamentary elections, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood and the main opposition party in Jordan, came out on top among political parties in a poll marked by low turnout, against a backdrop of a sluggish economy and war in the Gaza Strip. Out of a total of 138 seats, the Islamists won 31, including 17 (out of 41) reserved for political parties and the rest allocated to the regions.
The Jordanian Parliament is bicameral. In addition to the 138 elected deputies, it has 69 senators appointed by the monarch. The assembly can withdraw its confidence in the government, approve and promulgate laws.
The war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas has influenced, according to analysts, the outcome of the legislative elections in the kingdom, which has been linked to Israel by a peace treaty since 1994, where nearly half of the Jordanian population is of Palestinian origin. Demonstrations regularly call for the cancellation of this treaty.
The war in Gaza has also dealt a severe blow to the Jordanian economy, which borders Israel and the occupied West Bank, particularly to the tourism sector (14% of GDP). The kingdom is heavily dependent on foreign aid, particularly from the United States and the International Monetary Fund, and unemployment reached 21% in the first quarter of 2024.
