Jordan appoints new prime minister after parliamentary elections

Jordan’s King Abdullah II has appointed Jafar Hassan as the kingdom’s new prime minister following a parliamentary election.

In an official statement, the palace announced Hassan's appointment after his predecessor, Bisher Khasawneh, submitted his resignation to the king on Sunday.

Hassan, 56, previously served as planning minister and chief of staff to the king.

King Abdullah called on Hassan to “mobilize all efforts to support the steadfastness of our Palestinian brothers” in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and “holy Jerusalem.”

He called on him to “use all our energy, with the help of Arab and international movements, to protect the Palestinian people and to end the attacks and blatant violations of humanitarian principles and international law.”

On Tuesday, Jordanians voted in the first parliamentary elections under a new electoral law. The new electoral law aims to strengthen the role of political parties in the 138-seat parliament, which has long been dominated by tribal groups and pro-government factions.

The Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, won up to a fifth of the seats under the 2022 electoral law. For the first time, 41 out of 138 seats were allocated to political parties.

The revised law is intended to weaken the grip of tribal power and strengthen the role of political parties.

However, the parliament still remains largely in the hands of tribal members, centrist politicians and members loyal to the government.

Despite the IAF's successes, the election was marked by widespread voter fatigue. Initial figures showed a turnout of 32 percent among the 5.1 million eligible voters in 18 constituencies, a slight improvement on the 29 percent turnout in the last election in 2020.