(MENAFN- Jordan Times) Several rallies were organised in various parts of the Kingdom on Friday to call for widespread political reforms and a "democratic" elections law.
In a series of protests across seven governorates, leftists and independent activists called for the resignation of Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh's government for economic policies based on "price hikes" and last week's issuance of an elections law they describe as "undemocratic".
In a so-called "Friday against hunger and oppression", popular movements held rallies in Karak, Tafileh, Salt, Ajloun, Jerash and Maan marking a year-and-a-half since the country's protest movement started, activists said.
Activists called for anti-corruption efforts and the abolition of the one-person, one-vote electoral system, which opponents claim has resulted in consecutive parliaments "unrepresentative of the will of the people".
Also on Friday, some 200 activists rallied in Irbid, calling for the release of two activists arrested on Thursday for blocking the main road in an attempt to prevent Tarawneh's motorcade from entering the northern governorate in protest against the government's economic policies.
One of the two activists was freed on Friday and one remains in custody facing charges of assaulting a police officer, sources said. The two were among 14 arrested for blocking the main highway, most of them released Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, tens of independent activists staged a sit-in in at the Eighth Circle area in west Amman, in protest against the Elections Law and in a bid to encourage unity among various reform groups.
Under the slogan "Friday for the Jordanian lands", activists denounced ongoing delays in political reforms, chanting "Demonstrate, demonstrate until the regime reforms."
Also on Friday, Islamists held a demonstration in the south Amman neighbourhood of Hai Nazzal demanding regime reform, elected governments and Senates, and corruption investigations, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The protesters also expressed support for the rebellion in Syria.
Friday marked the third straight week of protest over the Elections Law, which started within hours of the controversial legislation's passage by the Lower House last month.
Activists specifically object to an article in the law restricting citizens to one vote at the district level, a stipulation they describe as a "carbon copy" of the one-person, one-vote electoral system.
Islamists, opposition groups and some tribes suspended a campaign to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections in light of His Majesty King Abdullah's decision to return the controversial law to the Parliament for amendments, but have vowed to go through with the boycott should the one-person, one-vote electoral system remain in the final version.
Opposition groups and political observers accuse MPs of tailoring the law to ensure their re-election in the early parliamentary elections set to be held by the end of the year.
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