Akhir 1432 / 14 March 2011, SPA -- The Jordanian government on Monday named a 53-member National Dialogue Committee tasked with drafting democratic reforms, according to dpa. The panel includes opposition leaders. The panel, led by Speaker of the Upper House of Parliament Taher Masri, has been asked by Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to prioritise work on a new election law and a political system that allows a representative parliament capable of appointing prime ministers. In a letter to Masri, King Abdullah II hailed the formation of the panel and stressed the need for "a democratic election law that produces a lower house (of parliament) representing all Jordanians (and) which plays a pioneering role in the establishment of justice, fairness, transparency, the rule of law and fighting corruption and favouritism." The panel has been asked to complete its work in no more than three months.
