Parliament’s 3rd ordinary session prorogued as of Sunday

AMMAN — A Royal Decree has been issued, proroguing the ordinary session of Parliament as of Sunday, a Royal Court statement announced on Thursday.

Under Article 34 of the Constitution, the King has the power to convene, inaugurate, adjourn and prorogue the Parliament.

His Majesty King Abdullah opened Parliament’s third ordinary session and delivered the Speech from the Throne on October 14.

During their third ordinary session, the two chambers of Parliament passed the new Income Tax Law, which was aimed at expanding the tax payer base and combating tax evasion.

They also passed the 2019 General Pardon Law, which went into effect earlier this year and resulted in the release of thousands of prisoners.

The 2019 General Budget Law and the budgets of independent public institutions were also endorsed by Parliament during this session, in addition to amendments to the Labour Law, the Illicit Gains Law and the Personal Status Law, among other key pieces of legislation.

Also during the current session, MPs called for the cancellation of a gas deal between Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) and Israel, which is currently being reviewed by the Constitutional Court.

Up until February, the Lower House passed since the beginning of the ordinary session 12 laws in 26 sessions.

The Chamber held 31 meetings, of which five were for monitoring the government’s performance.