Jordan- 'New Cabinet to feature more technocrats than politicians' 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Prime Minister-designate Fayez Tarawneh on Saturday continued consultations to form his new team of ministers, which will be the 95th government since 1921 and the 10th since King Abdullah ascended to the Throne in 1999.

His Majesty King Abdullah entrusted Tarawneh to form a new government Thursday after the resignation of outgoing prime minister Awn Khasawneh.

The new government is expected to consist of technocrats, according to one informed source.

The source added that the new Cabinet will focus on taking the country into a new democratic phase marked by the election of a new Parliament later this year based on a new elections law.

On Saturday, the premier-designate met with Senate President Taher Masri as part of his consultations to form a new Cabinet and stressed his commitment to cooperate with the legislative authority, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In a statement to the press on Saturday, Tarawneh said the element of time is important at the current key stage, which requires that the government move ahead with reform.

The premier-designate added that the laws governing political life are currently in the hands of the Lower House, noting that the new government will work on completing what has been achieved so far in reform by establishing the independent elections commission, Petra reported.

Tarawneh, a veteran politician who has served as premier between 1998 and 1999, will have to take the demands of the opposition and popular movements into account when drafting the elections law after the draft sent by the outgoing government of Khasawneh failed to satisfy political parties and activists.

Although his discussions are taking place behind closed doors, a source who spoke to The Jordan Times on condition of anonymity Saturday said some ministers from the previous Cabinet will keep their portfolios.

The source said outgoing foreign minister Nasser Judeh, who had succeeded in bringing the Palestinian and the Israeli peace negotiators back to the table in Amman, is a strong candidate to keep his portfolio, adding that outgoing ministers of planning and health Jafar Hassan and Abdul Latif Wreikat, respectively, are also expected to be part of Tarawneh's team.

It is also expected that the new Cabinet will be made up of technocrats instead of political figures, according to the source, due to its short lifespan, which is not expected to exceed three months, in line with a recent constitutional amendment stipulating that the government must resign within a week after the dissolution of Parliament.

The constitutional requirement increases the pressure on the new team of ministers in their work to hold municipal and parliamentary elections before the end of this year in accordance with the King's directives in the Letter of Designation.

The new government is also required to expedite setting up the independent elections commission to oversee and conduct the coming elections.

"This should be achieved in the nearest time possible to pave the way for conducting the elections the moment all arrangements are in place, before the end of the year," His Majesty said in the letter.