AMMAN — Three days after it was approved by the
Lower House, the National Security Council (NSC) continues to stir controversy
among lawmakers, public figures, and pundits over its make-up, authority and
accountability, and whether its duties will be outlined by a law or a
regulation. Even after the government and the Legal Committee gave some
explanations about the proposed council there is still some ambiguity
surrounding the role His Majesty will play and who the council will be
accountable to. However, it is still not clear how this new body will function
and what responsibilities it will hold.
اضافة اعلان
Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, Musa
Al-Maaytah, told
Jordan News that the new council will not strip the government
of its powers or compete with it. The NSC will be specialized in internal
security and foreign policy.
“The council will meet when necessary by a call from the
King or someone he authorizes. It has nothing to do with the executive
authority,” Maaytah said.
A regulation will be issued by the government to explain its
tasks and procedures, Maaytah said adding that the council can be held
accountable by the Lower House since the prime minister, foreign minister,
interior minister, defense minister will be members of the council, all of whom
can be held accountable by parliament.
Lawmaker Saleh Al-Armouti believes that the council
counteracts the reform plans as that it will strip the government of its
powers. He explained that setting up another supreme body would lead
constitutional rifts and would change the definition of Jordan’s political system.
However, MP Tamam Al-Riyati believes that the council will
improve political stability and national security. She considers it as a
guarantor for a collaboration between the political and security bodies.
Former director of the
Center for Strategic Studies and
professor of Sociology at the
University of Jordan, Musa Shteiwi, told
Jordan
News that the council is a body of authority that exists in many countries.
Jordan is in a transitional phase since there are changes in the executive and
legislative structures, he explained. “We all know how carrying out reform is a
tough and not everyone agrees on how to do it,” he said. However, university
professor and geopolitical analyst and columnist Amer Al-Sabaileh told
Jordan
News that he does not see this new body as a unique event to the political
sphere since the country has been run this way for the past era. “It is making
the current reality constitutional. The National Policies Council and the Royal
Court both have big powers and authority. So I don’t think there’s any change,”
Sabaileh told
Jordan News.
But he added that creating such a council will weaken future
governments. This is because governments can only be stronger when they are
directly held accountable and run through transparent and independent policies
that are not influenced by other powers. “The current status quo and the
increase of power centers and making them constitutional means that we are
going towards weaker governments,” Sabaileh said.
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