His Majesty King Abdullah commended the “tremendous efforts” of Parliament in endorsing the “historic” constitutional amendments, urging them to keep up the good work while they work on laws corresponding to the changes made to the basic law.

After signing the amendments as referred from Parliament, His Majesty met with members of the Senate and the Lower House, including members of their respective legal committees to discuss the next steps. He noted that 14 new items of legislation and 30 amendments to existing laws are now necessary to complete the political reform process.

Describing the amendments as a “turning point in the history of the Kingdom that… open a new chapter for all Jordanians”, the King said that the mission at hand as far as lawmakers are concerned is “huge”.
His Majesty said the constitutional changes are not the end of the road, but rather a step in a continuous process of legislation that is supposed to be responsive to developments and new challenges.

The King said he appreciates the pressure placed on the Senate and the Lower House, stressing that the political reform is moving in the right direction and will continue until meeting citizens’ aspirations.

He noted that the “roadmap” of the future has now become clear, citing the elections and political parties laws as milestones in the path ahead, in addition to laws that will be drafted to define the mandate of an independent commission to supervise the elections and the constitutional court, among other key pieces of legislation.

His Majesty noted that the roadmap includes conducting the municipal elections in December, followed by preparations for the next parliamentary elections during the second half of 2012.