King Abdullah cedes power in parliamentary election

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King Abdullah II of Jordan

King Abdullah II is expected to see his authority diminished after his subjects have casted their vote for a new parliament empowered to pick the kingdom’s new prime minster. For the past two years, the Jordanian king has been undertaking has a series of reforms aimed at pacifying his subjects after political turmoil swept all throughout the Middle East.


The reforms will also see the King stripped from considerable power over government matters, as the day-to-day running of the government will be transferred from the Crown to the parliament. It is also expected that Jordanians will have “greater freedom of opinion and assembly,” although “foreign policy and security matters” still rest in the hands of the King, reports CBC World online.

The opposition has seen this, however, as a “political ploy”, and stating that the “monarchy will still retain its absolute powers.” The country's main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, boycotted the election.