AMMAN -- The Lower House is scheduled during today's session to look into a letter of resignation submitted by MP Anwar Ajarmeh (Amman, 7th District).
Ajarmeh, who submitted his resignation to the House Permanent Bureau earlier last week, yesterday said his decision was "irreversible".
"Anyway, during today's session, I will tell the Chamber why I insist on resigning," he responded when asked about the reasons behind his resignation, but alluded to deputies' "disappointing" handling of corruption cases.
The MP noted that, on more than one occasion, deputies have failed to present themselves as influential players in combating corruption, citing the Lower House votes on the findings of the committee investigating the privatisation of the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) and on a suspected corruption case dubbed the "casino file".
"In both cases, MPs, as they are unauthorised to impeach, should have at least referred the suspects to the judiciary to take the necessary legal procedures and not cleared them of corruption and given them immunity," Ajarmeh said, adding that "regrettably, our job has become centred only around clearing corruption files in the country".
The investigative panel examining the JPMC privatisation wrapped up its mandate earlier this month, and presented a set of recommendations to deputies, only three of which were approved.
An overwhelming majority of MPs voted down the panel's recommendations to refer to the judiciary any of the 16 persons whose names were listed in the panel's final report as "most likely" involved in corruption cases.
Among the persons listed in the report were former premier Marouf Bakhit along with four members of his 2007 Cabinet: Ziad Fariz, Suhair Al-Ali, Abed Shakhanbeh and Sharif Zu'bi. The list also included former finance minister Mohammad Abu Hammour, who headed the higher steering committee overseeing the privatisation programme and former Royal Court chief Bassem Awadallah, who also served as finance and planning minister several times during the past decade.
During its extraordinary session last August, the House conducted a vote over a bill of impeachment involving Bakhit and 17 ministers of his 2007 Cabinet, declaring the former premier innocent of corruption in the casino case and indicting former tourism minister Osama Dabbas in the same case.
Also today, the House is scheduled to continue its deliberations on the draft law governing the projected independent commission for elections.
Last Wednesday, deputies began debating the bill, endorsing 11 articles of the legislation before the session was adjourned.
Paragraph 2 of Article 67 of the Constitution stipulates the establishment of an independent commission to oversee and manage parliamentary polls and any other elections called for by the government in all of their stages.
© Jordan Times 2012
