Jordan's King Abdullah dissolves parliament ahead of elections

King Abdullah of Jordan has ordered electoral reforms in recent years. EPA

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King Abdullah of Jordan dissolved the country's parliament on Thursday, a ceremonial step before parliamentary elections in September.

The king holds all significant powers in Jordan, which is home to 10 million people. The current parliament started its four-year cycle in December 2020.

Royal Palace officials said the parliament was dissolved as of Thursday, in line with a decree issued by the king.

The elections on September 10 will be the first since a new law was passed two years ago that allows some candidates to run for parliament across districts, if they belong to political parties.

The change was seen widely as an attempt by the king to encourage the formation of more political parties, without affecting his powers.

In a speech to mark his silver jubilee in June, the king pledged to “pursue comprehensive modernisation”.

Turnout in the last parliamentary election in 2020 was 30 per cent, compared with 36 per cent in 2016, according to official figures.

The 130-member parliament comprises mostly deputies who belong to tribes that were present in what became the British Protectorate of Transjordan in 1921.

The population of Jordan has since been increased by arrivals of refugees and migrants, mainly from Palestine but also Iraq, Syria and other countries.

For decades, a main role for the Hashemite monarchy has been maintaining the balance between the various ethnic and tribal groups in the country.