AMMAN — The government on Wednesday sent the independent elections commission draft law to Parliament for discussions and endorsement, which will mark a new phase in future elections.

An official said yesterday that the draft legislation is consistent with Paragraph 2 of Article 67 of the Constitution, which stipulates the establishment of an independent body to oversee and manage parliamentary elections and any other elections called for by the government in all of their stages.

"This is an outstanding achievement, as it will set a new phase in the way elections are run in the Kingdom, ensuring the integrity and fairness of the democratic process," Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Rakan Majali told The Jordan Times.

Majali added that the draft law was drawn up to enable the commission to perform its duties in organising free and transparent electoral processes.

Under the bill, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times, the commission will enjoy complete financial and administrative independence to ensure its decisions are taken freely without pressure or interference from any party.

“The duties and responsibilities of the commission will be assigned to a board of commissioners who will be tasked with ensuring the commission’s independence and active role in supervising any election, and the management of its various stages with integrity, transparency and impartiality,” a government statement said.

The commissioners will be granted the necessary immunities so that they can carry out their duties without influence from any party.

Under the proposed law, the commission, whose five board members will be appointed by a Royal Decree for a renewable term of six years, will prepare a security plan in cooperation with the interior ministry to guarantee the safety of the electoral process, the voters, the candidates and the election centres.

According to the draft, the commission will be responsible for setting the election date once it is called for by the King and drawing up the schedule, plans and programmes necessary for the implementation of a fair electoral process.

At a meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah earlier this month, Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh said the government was seeking benefit from the expertise of advanced countries, particularly France, Germany and Spain, in drafting similar laws.

During the same meeting, Minister of Justice Salim Al Zoubi noted that the government will refer the political parties, constitutional court and elections laws to the Lower House in January, February and March respectively, noting that the government is working to finalise other laws such as the administrative judiciary law.