Political parties say joint committee formed in hopes of ultimately forming coalition

AMMAN — Thirty-three political parties representing the political spectrum have come together under an initiative to discuss and build a unified position on a number of issues described as “for the benefit of the nation”.

These political parties have formed the ‘Political Reform Committee’ (PRC) through which they will discuss various national issues, the committee’s reportuer Hamdi Murad told The Jordan Times on Monday. 

The Islamic Action Front (IAF), Al Resalah Party, the Jordanian National Party, Zamzam, the Jordanian United Front Party, the Islamic Centrist Party, the National Front for Reform, the Jordanian National Democratic Rally, the Reformist Parties Current, the Coalition of Centrist Parties and the Tajdeed (renewal) Current Party are part of the 20-member committee.

Murad said that the newly-formed committee’s main job will centered around enhancing coordination among the political parties to ultimately build a unified stance on several national issues.

Proposing parliamentary elections law that adopts the party-list proportional representation system at the national level will top the committee’s agenda, Mohammad Zyoud, IAF president said, adding that the 2016 Elections Law “does not favour political parties”.

Salah Qudah, a PRC member from the Reformist Parties Current, said the parties will translate their visions of an ideal elections law into a draft legislation that would be handed to officials later on. 

The committee, which held its first meeting on Monday, discussed different topics of national interest such as tax hikes and the mechanism to form parliamentary governments, according to Zyoud.

Murad said that PRC members are putting their differences aside and focusing on common national interests, adding that this move can serve as a chance for some parties to group into more influential coalitions “as there are around 50 parties in Jordan with more new ones being established”.

“The smaller the number of parties in the country the better for the society,” Zyoud said.