The Jordanian government has long stressed its commitment to political reform, modernization and liberalization. While the municipal elections revealed visible gaps in this process, these and upcoming legislative elections do offer the potential to bring about better governance and increased citizen participation in political life.

TESTAccording to Prime Minister Ma’ruf al-Bakhit, the government will hold parliamentary elections no later than November this year. The current parliament - now in recess - will remain in session until King Abdullah II dissolves it and a new house is elected.

The Cabinet is considering a plan to increase the quota of women’s seats from six to twelve before this year’s parliamentary elections. Leading figures in the Jordanian women’s movement, represented by the Jordan National Committee for Women along with other civil society organizations, are calling for one additional seat for each of the twelve governorates. There are 110 seats in the Lower House; six were reserved for women prior to the 2003 parliamentary elections.

Public confidence in the government’s competence has dropped over the past year-and-a-half due to high unemployment rates, poverty, and poor living standards, according to a recent survey conducted by the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies. The poll’s findings also suggest that the public’s view of government will continue to decline unless fundamental changes are made.

According to a new report issued by the President of the Judiciary Council, 95 percent of judges do not speak or write English or French, despite the fact that Jordan is a signatory to several international political and economic conventions and agreements. The report identified major problems - including the need for more judicial independence - and proposed a series of reforms, such as the adoption of clear standards to select qualified judges.

A group of Jordanian citizens living in Saudi Arabia recently sent a letter urging the government to change its electoral regulations to allow Jordanians abroad to participate in elections. The majority of Jordanian expatriates - experts estimate there are nearly 600,000 living in the Persian Gulf states - live in Saudi Arabia.

In its 2007 annual report, Amnesty International stated that torture continues to be practiced in Jordan. Amnesty researchers claimed that many people in Jordan were detained without due process.

The idealistic goal of democracy promotion has often been stymied by other strategic interests, such as the desire to maintain good relations with friendly autocratic regimes in the region that provide the United States with valuable cooperation in the war on terror, and help mediate the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict.