His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday directed the government to activate the Ministry of Defence and expand the jurisdiction of the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) to encompass all electoral processes.

In a letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Wednesday, King Abdullah issued directives to activate the Defence Ministry to assume the political, economic, legal and logistic functions related to national defence.

The measure will be part of "a crucial new phase of reforms − based on the principles of transparency, enhancing popular participation and sharing national responsibilities − to add to the major qualitative reforms achieved over the past three years".

The ministry will take over the non-military logistic, administrative, investment and development duties, and those not associated with specialised professional military domain that the General Command of the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) currently undertakes.

Its envisioned role will also include developing the state’s general defence capabilities and managing military resources more efficiently.

Expanding the IEC's role will authorise it to manage and supervise municipal elections, in addition to any other elections the government assigns, "ensuring the utmost levels of transparency, integrity and fairness − particularly as we embark on a gradual implementation of the national decentralisation project", the King said.

In his reply to His Majesty’s letter, Ensour requested permission to introduce two amendments to the Constitution.

The first constitutional amendment entails assigning the authority to appoint the chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff and director of the General Intelligence Department to the Supreme Commander of the JAF.

The measure is aimed at "ensuring that the Arab Army and the General Intelligence Department remain professional and apolitical", Ensour said in the letter.

"This will pave the way for activating the role of the Ministry of Defence and relaunching it gradually under the umbrella of the Council of Ministers," he said.

The second amendment is needed to expand the IEC’s authority to encompass managing all elections, including non-parliamentary polls and those conducted under the decentralisation plan.

“We will strive... and take extra care to draft the required laws and by-laws − as soon as the two constitutional amendments listed above are completed − to implement the two reform steps envisaged by Your Majesty,” Ensour said.