Jordan celebrates King’s 17th coronation anniversary

AMMAN — Jordan celebrates the 17th anniversary of His Majesty King Abdullah’s coronation on Thursday.

Since his coronation on June 9, 1999, the King has embarked on comprehensive democratic reform in the Kingdom, giving special attention to internal and external national issues.

In particular, he has focused on improving Jordan’s capabilities as a modern country, emphasising investment in the Kingdom’s human resources and innovation as a means to combat the nationwide shortage of natural resources.

In addition to these priorities, His Majesty has been always committed to advocating the Palestinian people's right to have an independent state and safeguarding Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

Under the King's leadership, Jordan is working towards a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East and is part of an international coalition to fight terrorism.

Throughout the past 17 years, the King has carried the banner of tolerance and coexistence, launching the “Amman Message”, to portray the true essence of Islam, which is based on moderation and rejection of extremism.

In addition, the UN General Assembly adopted the King’s initiative “World Interfaith Harmony Week” in October 2010.

He also sees economic reform as a major concern, and has consequently directed Prime Minister Hani Mulki and his new government to prepare a package of measures designed to overcome economic challenges.

Under Royal directives, the previous government led by Abdullah Ensour prepared the Jordan Vision 2025, which His Majesty described, in the Letter of Designation of Mulki, as "a long-term national blueprint that outlines the integrated framework of economic and social policies based on providing opportunities for all and serving as the base to enhance the rule of law, equal opportunity, increasing public participation in policymaking and achieving sustainable and comprehensive development".

The Kingdom, under His Majesty’s rule, took the initiative to implement much needed political reforms, with four parliamentary elections taking place over the past 17 years, and new elections scheduled to be held this year in around four months.

The Elections Law on which the upcoming elections will be held, moves from the one-person, one-vote electoral system to a proportional system based on open lists, a step that would encourage candidates to join platform-based political blocs in a way that contributes to the formation of stronger parliamentary bloc structures. 

The King has said these developments would lead to "the endgame of our process: building and developing political parties and bringing forth parliamentary governments".

The Decentralisation Law, which came into force last year, is aimed at enhancing public participation in development-related decisions. 

The King has instructed the government to issue all the necessary by-laws and instructions to implement the Decentralisation Law, stressing that political reform also requires strengthening the rule of law and implementing administrative reform measures. 

The September 2011 constitutional amendments necessitated the enactment or amendment of several laws, including those that mandated the establishment of the Independent Elections Commission and the Constitutional Court.