VZCZCXRO5656
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #2255/01 1441530
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 241530Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8745
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002255 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KMCC SOCI JO
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON JORDANIAN REFORM INITIATIVES 
 
REF: A. 06 AMMAN 5945 
     ¶B. AMMAN 1703 
     ¶C. AMMAN 1410 
     ¶D. AMMAN 542 
     ¶E. 06 AMMAN 7737 
     ¶F. AMMAN 1959 
     ¶G. AMMAN 1567 
     ¶H. AMMAN 1707 (NOTAL) 
     ¶I. AMMAN 1962 
 
AMMAN 00002255  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador David Hale, Reasons 1.4 (B) & (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  Jordan has actively advanced the political 
and social reform agendas laid out at the July 2006 national 
unity conference (ref A).  Since that time Parliament passed 
reform bills dealing with municipal government, political 
parties, press and publications, access to government 
information, and financial disclosure for public officials. 
In addition, Jordan opened its first government-run shelter 
for women, and continued a USAID-supported court records 
automation project in furtherance of judicial reform.  End 
summary. 
 
National Elections 
------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) 2007 is the year of elections in Jordan, with 
municipal elections to be held at the end of July, and 
national parliamentary elections slated to occur by November. 
 NDI is working to strengthen the ability of political forces 
to articulate, organize and compete on clear, issue-based 
political platforms.  More than 50 Jordanians have already 
announced their candidacies for Parliament in the press, and 
many have begun campaigning. 
 
Municipal Elections 
------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The GOJ announced that municipal elections will be 
held July 31.  Note: This is a slight delay from the 
originally planned date of July 17 (ref B), and is due to the 
GoJ's desire to provide more time for voter registration 
efforts.  END NOTE.  The announcement follows the 
Parliament's passage in March of a reformed municipal 
government law, which included a 20 per cent quota for women. 
 The Ministry of Municipalities also announced the new 
allocation of council seats for each town.  Twenty to 
twenty-five percent of seats on each council are reserved for 
women.  IRI is focusing its assistance on polling, candidate 
cultivation and training, with an emphasis on women, in 
anticipation of these elections. 
 
Political Parties 
----------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) The Chamber of Deputies endorsed the government's 
bill to reform the political parties law in April.  The bill 
will simplify registration procedures for new parties, and 
provide a mechanism for some government funding of parties in 
the future (ref C).  Comment: The King's objective is to 
encourage moderates to unite eventually behind one or two 
national parties better positioned to compete against the 
Islamists. End Comment.  The law increases from 50 to 250 the 
minimum membership of an organization seeking recognition as 
a party, simplifies some registration procedures, and 
provides a mechanism for some government funding of parties 
in the future if a special regulation is enacted. 
 
Press and Publications 
---------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The new press and publications law passed in April 
reduces the scope of punishable offenses compared to the 
earlier law and eliminates imprisonment of journalists (ref 
C).  While some activists worry the GOJ could still use other 
statutes if it wanted to imprison journalists, the government 
has not in fact sought to imprison anyone for media-related 
offenses in recent years. 
 
Protecting Women 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Queen Rania inaugurated a family reconciliation 
center/shelter for abused women in Amman, to be run by the 
Ministry of Social Development, in January 2007 (Ref D).  In 
addition to counseling services, the shelter provides 
emergency housing for abused women and their young children. 
The shelter is the first government-run facility of its kind 
and was supported, in part, by USAID funds.  It is the only 
facility in Jordan that provides both shelter and counseling 
for domestic violence victims. 
 
 
AMMAN 00002255  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Independent Judiciary 
--------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Jordanian judiciary, with USAID assistance, has 
increased court record automation to 60 per cent of its 
caseload, increasing independence and transparency of the 
judiciary.  USAID expects that a computerized system will be 
used in all cases in regular courts by the end of 2008. 
 
Other reform laws 
----------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The GOJ passed a financial disclosure law in 
September 2006 requiring government officials to submit 
detailed financial information that can be referenced in case 
of allegations of corruption or malfeasance (Ref E).  The 
parliament also passed key amendments to the trademarks and 
patents law in (ref C) and an anti-money laundering law (ref 
F) in April 2007.  In April 2007, an access to information 
law was passed (ref G), providing Jordanian citizens with the 
right to seek several categories of information from 
government entities for the first time. 
 
¶9.    (C) COMMENT: Jordan is still capable of the occasional 
misstep that detracts from its otherwise positive reputation 
on reform, such as the confiscation of Al Jazeera's Prince 
Hassan interview tapes (ref H), the brief suppression of a 
controversial edition of the news weekly Al Majd, and the 
detention of former MP Ahmed Al Abbadi for insulting the 
state (ref I).  But these examples strike Post as the 
outliers.  The GOJ has achieved considerable progress toward 
the ambitious goals announced at the July, 2007 conference, 
despite a mulish anti-reform majority in parliament.  The new 
parliament to be elected later this year may prove more 
friendly to reform.  END COMMENT. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
Hale