Parliament dissolved, paving ground for early elections

A Royal Decree was issued on Thursday dissolving Parliament, a Royal Court statement said. Another Royal Decree was issued calling for early elections according to the provisions of the Elections Law. According to Paragraph 1 of Article 34 of the Constitution, the King issues directives for holding Lower House elections in the manner described in the Elections Law and related bylaws. In accordance with the amended Constitution, the current government will have to resign within a week of the dissolution. The prime minister during whose term the Parliament is dissolved cannot form a new government.
The specific date for the government’s resignation will be decided by the King. After the dissolution, the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) has to specify a date for the elections. The parliamentary polls are expected to be held early next year after the IEC extended the registration period for 15 more days, until October 15.
The longest grace period allowed for the IEC as per the commission’s code is 85 days.
By the end of Thursday’s working day, the number of registered voters reached 1.98 million.
IEC Spokesperson Hussein Bani Hani said 22,755 voters registered on Thursday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Official figures estimate the number of eligible voters in the Kingdom at around three million.
A Royal Decree was issued earlier this week postponing the ordinary session of Parliament, scheduled to start in October, until November 29.
As per the Constitution, Parliament was originally scheduled to convene in October, but His Majesty King Abdullah has the constitutional right to postpone the session, dissolve Parliament and call for early elections.