The House of Representatives will continue, during a legislative session on Monday, debating the articles of the Local Administration Bill of 2026, which comprises 70 articles.
The bill is aligned with the outcomes of the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System, the objectives of the Economic Modernization Vision, and the Public Sector Modernization Roadmap. It also responds to the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II to the government, outlined in the Royal Letter of Designation, to review and improve legislation governing local administration, as well as commitments made by the government in its ministerial statement.
The bill follows an extensive series of consultations conducted by the government with parliamentary blocs and MPs, the president and members of the Senate, various relevant sectors, former municipal affairs ministers, and sector experts and specialists. It also took into account ideas and proposals presented, as well as the findings of opinion polls and studies conducted in this field.
The bill focuses on strengthening governance of the local administration sector, linking it to development, expanding community participation, enhancing accountability and oversight, and improving the quality of services provided to citizens.
It also seeks to shift municipalities from their traditional service-oriented role toward a broader and more effective developmental and investment role, by focusing on strategic and urban plans linked to citizens’ priorities and stimulating local economies across the governorates.
The bill clearly defines roles and responsibilities between the municipal council, which is responsible for setting policies and strategies, making decisions and overseeing their implementation, and the executive and administrative bodies, which are responsible for preparing and implementing plans. This is intended to strengthen accountability and prevent overlapping powers.
The bill maintains the democratic process established under the Political Modernization Document by retaining the direct and secret election of municipal council chairpersons and members through two separate ballots, alongside measures aimed at enhancing the integrity of the electoral process.
It also strengthens the role of executive administrations in planning and implementation by empowering them to prepare and implement strategic, executive, urban, developmental and service plans and submit them to municipal councils, enabling the councils to monitor implementation and exercise oversight and accountability.
The bill retains the requirement to appoint a municipal executive director to lead the administrative and executive apparatus. This is intended to improve municipal efficiency, accelerate automation and digital transformation, and enhance the quality of services provided to citizens. The conditions for appointment, duties, powers and termination of service will be determined by regulations issued for this purpose.
The bill also expands the powers of mayors and strengthens their role in monitoring service quality and stalled projects, as well as coordinating with official and service agencies and local communities, without undermining the powers of municipal councils or executive bodies.
Governorate Councils
The bill also seeks to develop the role of governorate councils by restructuring them to include representatives elected from various entities at the governorate level, such as professional associations, women’s federations, farmers’ associations, and chambers of commerce and industry, among others.
The councils would serve as platforms for developmental and investment planning, in line with the needs assessment guide and international standards for service delivery, as well as national plans and project monitoring.
The bill stipulates that the deputy chairperson of the governorate council must be a woman.
Executive administrations would be required to submit monthly and quarterly reports to municipal councils on financial and administrative performance and project implementation within the annual budget and executive plan approved by the council. The reports must also identify any obstacles encountered during implementation.
The bill also requires municipal performance reports covering both the council and executive body to be published periodically on municipal pages and official electronic platforms and websites, in a move aimed at strengthening public trust.
MPs Raise Candidacy, Financial and Oversight Issues
During the first session dedicated to debating the bill on Sunday, MPs discussed candidacy and membership requirements, the powers of municipalities and governorate councils, the role of executive councils and administrative governors, as well as financial resources, investment and oversight.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Administration Waleed Al-Masri said the Cabinet had decided to permanently appoint 6,000 daily-wage workers employed across municipalities in the Kingdom.
He added that the bill primarily seeks to improve the quality of services provided to citizens and transform municipalities into genuine development engines in the governorates.
Al-Masri said the decision covers all categories of actual daily-wage workers, including sanitation workers, maintenance and agricultural staff, and workers in various field occupations.
He explained that the decision followed an extensive study prepared by the Ministry of Public Sector Development in coordination with the Public Service and Administration Commission.
Al-Masri said his ministry had requested all municipal councils and committees to provide lists of actual field workers. The data has been received and is currently being reviewed in preparation for implementing the decision.
Regarding local administration, Al-Masri stressed the urgent need to adopt advanced legislation that would enable municipalities to perform their core role efficiently and move away from the traditional service-based concept toward building “genuine development units” that contribute to improving citizens’ living standards and positively affect the economic situation in the governorates.
He said there is nothing preventing municipal employees from pursuing university studies, provided they obtain approval from their direct supervisors and choose a specialization appropriate to the nature of their work.
He added that obtaining a new academic qualification does not automatically result in a change of an employee’s job title; rather, the employee must compete for appointment in accordance with applicable regulations and laws.
Administrative Committee: Bill Is a Key Reform Milestone
Chair of the Parliamentary Administrative Committee Khalifa Al-Diyat said the Local Administration Bill represents a pivotal milestone in the country’s political and administrative reform process, describing it as one of the key pieces of legislation emerging from the Economic Modernization Vision.
He said the bill defines the roles of municipal councils and executive administrations, helping reduce overlapping powers and establish clearer roles and responsibilities.
Al-Diyat explained that the bill restricts the authority to dissolve elected councils and links such dissolutions to specific timeframes not exceeding one year, preventing councils from remaining dissolved indefinitely.
He said the bill therefore forms part of efforts to develop the local administration system and advance political and administrative reform.
Al-Diyat stressed that one of the bill’s key foundations is shifting municipalities from their “traditional service role” to a developmental role, meaning their work would no longer be limited to sanitation, roads and daily services, but would also extend to development, investment, stimulating local economies and participating in strategic and urban planning.
He added that the Local Administration Bill strengthens public participation and local democracy by retaining the direct and secret election of municipal council chairpersons and members.
The Cabinet approved the Local Administration Bill on May 24, referring it to the House of Representatives to proceed with its constitutional approval procedures.
The House subsequently voted by majority on July 12 to refer the bill to the Parliamentary Administrative Committee, which approved it on August 13.
