Jordan"s King Abdullah II on Wednesday picked up renowned economist Samir Refai as new prime minister and assigned him the duty of overseeing the next general elections, according to a royal court statement, according to dpa. Earlier Wednesday, the monarch accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, apparently on the backdrop of his cabinet"s economic shortcomings that led to an unprecedented growth in the public budget deficit. The 44-year-old Refai, who is the son of the current Speaker of the upper house of parliament and former prime minister Zeid Refai, served as royal cabinet minister for two years until 2005, when he resigned to become chairman of the Dubai Capital Jordan, one of the country"s major real estate firms. As Jordan lacks organized political parties which enjoy parliamentary majorities or form coalition governments, the monarch usually picks up prime ministers from people with distinguished records in the public life to form cabinets. In the designation letter, King Abdullah instructed the new prime minister to form a government that would have the primary aim of arranging new general elections, saying the ballots should not be held later than the fourth quarter of 2010. "The elections should represent a qualitative transition in Jordan"s democratic march and presents the kingdom as a model in transparency, fairness and impartiality," the monarch said. He also directed Refai to amend the controversial election law and to take all necessary steps that ensure the participation of all citizens in the polling process. King Abdullah dissolved the lower house of parliament last month, two years before completing its four-year term, amid rampant criticism that the chamber failed to fulfil its supervisory and legislative duties. The monarch called for early elections which should be held within four months in accordance with the constitutions. But a royal decree was issued on Tuesday deferring the polls beyond the four-month deadline to allow enough time for arrangements, including the amendment of the notorious election law. King Abdullah also directed the new prime minister to form a cabinet of qualified ministers capable of pursuing a package of economic reforms, foremost dealing with the repercussions of the global financial crisis on Jordan. The Jordanian head of state pledged that the Hashemite Kingdom would continue to extend all assistance to the Palestinian Authority with a view to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital as part of the two-state vision.
