The Parliament’s Upper and Lower Houses presented their replies to His Majesty King Abdullah’s Speech from the Throne at Raghadan Palace on Sunday.

Delivering the Upper House’s reply, Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh said King Abdullah’s speech placed the Parliament before its historic responsibilities urging its members to work hard to build on the achievements already made and set the requirements of progress.

The speech also underlined that the Parliament is the incubator of democracy and national dialogue, Rawabdeh added.

“The Senate highly appreciates the Speech from the Throne for clearly referring to citizenship as a basic element in the building of the modern state, as it guarantees justice, equality and participation and consolidates the sense of belonging to the nation,” he said.

Rawabdeh noted that the King’s speech “with all clarity” singled out one of the major problems we face, namely, the need for the government administration to improve its performance to the highest levels of professionalism and efficiency.

“Jordan is strong with its wise leadership, and is proud of the will of its conscious people who endures hardships for the sake of the higher national interests,” he added, expressing the Senate’s appreciation of His Majesty’s approach in managing the impact of the Arab Spring and the global financial crisis on Jordan.

Delivering the Lower House’s reply, Speaker Atef Tarawneh said the Chamber “appreciates” the content of the King’s speech, which serves “as a beacon” for all the branches of government as they seek to carry on with reform and construction and consolidate democracy that is based on the will of the people, who aspires to freedom, justice and a better life in a state of institutions and rule of the law.

“As you envisioned it, our country will, as a result, be always safe and secure and a model of good governance and democracy…,” Tarawneh said.

Stressing that the Lower House is guided by His Majesty’s vision, the speaker said deputies have recently endorsed the Chamber’s Rules of Procedure to lay the foundation for the stage of platform-based parliamentary blocs with the aim of developing the work of the House in anticipation of parliamentary governments.

“In continuation of this democratic approach, the House will revisit the elections and political parties laws, in implementation of Your Majesty’s vision and response to the aspirations of our Jordanian people…,” Tarawneh noted.

“The Lower House believes in the importance of paving the road for the stage of parliamentary governments,” he added, stressing that this should progress simultaneously with reform efforts.

“The Lower House is keen on enhancing this approach to serve the interests of the country and the people, away from personal gains or political bickering,” Tarawneh said.

“All of this should come in coordination and consultation with the government without any meaningless differences between the two sides, yet the House will keep performing its oversight and legislative duties.”