Jordan’s PM re-appointed to form government after elections

Hani al-Malki, 65, reinstated; was involved with negotiations that led to Jordan-Israel peace deal in 1994

By AFP 25 September 2016, 9:15 pm

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Illustrative: The Jordanian Parliament. (Jordan Parliament official)

AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s King Abdullah II re-appointed Prime Minister Hani al-Malki on Sunday to form a new government following elections in which the Muslim Brotherhood made its return as a parliamentary force.

“The king has accepted the resignation of Hani al-Malki’s government and charged him with forming a new one,” the royal palace said in a statement.

Malki, 65, an engineer by training, was closely involved with the negotiations that led to Jordan signing a peace deal with Israel in 1994.

He has held several ministerial posts and served as an adviser to the king.

The elections last Tuesday saw the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamic Action Front, which boycotted two previous polls, win 16 seats.

As in past elections, most seats in the 130-member parliament went to businessmen and tribal figures close to the monarchy.

The polls came as Jordan, a key ally of the West, wrestles with the spillover of wars in neighboring Syria and Iraq and the burden of hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees.

King Abdullah II can appoint and sack Jordan’s military and intelligence chiefs, senior judges and members of parliament’s upper house without government approval.