House session adjourned in apparent loss of quorum

AMMAN — The Lower House held a brief meeting on Wednesday, endorsing only one article of the temporary agriculture law.

Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh adjourned the session early, but did not announce that it lost quorum, although the number of attending MPs was well below legal quorum.

Two weeks ago, Tarawneh expressed his dissatisfaction with the loss of quorum at a House session before adjourning it.

“I apologise to the Jordanian people as we once again lost quorum,” he said at the time, asking the Lower House secretary general to publish names of the MPs who were absent without an excuse. 

“I am determined to inform the people,” the speaker said.

The Lower House has suffered from a lack quorum several times over the past months, which delayed its agenda and negatively impacted its performance, according to parliamentary sources.

The Chamber of Deputies was planning to complete its deliberations over the agriculture bill during Wednesday’s meeting, but could not proceed as Tarawneh adjourned the session a short while after it started.

According to the Constitution, a Lower House session remains valid as long as 75+1 MPs are present under the Dome. It was evident that less than 75 deputies out of the 150-strong House were present on Wednesday.