Ammon – Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Abdel Moneim Al-Awdat said that the political path is the cornerstone of the comprehensive modernization vision, as it constitutes the natural gateway to expanding the base of popular participation and enhancing real representation in public life, through building effective and influential political parties capable of competing on the basis of programs, not people, and on the basis of ideas, not slogans.

This came during his sponsorship of the National Conference entitled “Towards effective women and youth participation in political modernization,” which was held by the Al-Hayat Center – Monitor, in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation – Palestine and Jordan, today, Wednesday, with the participation of the Secretary-General of the National Committee for Women’s Affairs, Eng. Maha Ali, and a number of parliamentarians, party leaders, and young activists.

Al-Oudat stated that the political modernization project was not a formal step, but rather a fundamental transformation in the structure of Jordanian political life, aiming to consolidate the culture of programmatic party work, and strengthen the relationship between the citizen and state institutions, between the voter and the representative, and between idea and action, so that he is a partner and contributor in drawing up public policy and setting priorities.

He added that the essence of this project is to empower youth, as they are the beating heart of the nation and the energy capable of bringing about positive and constructive change. Young people are not just recipients of policies, but rather they are partners in formulating them, participants in decision-making, and bearers of the nation’s concern and ambition.

Al-Awdat pointed out that it is the responsibility of the programmatic parties, at this crucial stage, to move from slogan to action, and from public discourse to realistic, applicable solutions, so that they address people in their daily language, express their issues and livelihoods, and propose realistic solutions to the challenges facing youth, unemployment, development, education, and services.

Stressing that citizens today need party programs that touch their reality, through responsible discourse based on credibility, not one-upmanship.
Al-Awdat stated that the municipal elections will be next year and that the government will send its draft law to Parliament in this session, as well as draft laws, the most prominent of which are the science service, electronic transactions, social security, and the gas law.

Al-Awdat noted that today we are facing a new phase that requires everyone – government, parties and civil society institutions – to work in an integrated and diligent manner, to establish a culture of participation and responsibility, and to strengthen the programmatic party life that enriches the political scene and enriches the Jordanian democratic experience. The government is committed to providing a supportive environment for this process, through legislation, institutional support, and youth and women’s empowerment programs, so that the political process will be more mature and effective in accordance with the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II, son of Al Hussein the Great.

The Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Commission for Women, Eng. Maha Ali, said that the increase in women’s representation in the House of Representatives at an unprecedented rate in the history of political life in Jordan as a result of the outcomes of the Royal Commission to Modernize the Political System, in addition to their high participation rate in parties, is an important increase that has enhanced women’s participation in political life, which may develop in the next stage. In parallel, it is important to work to strengthen the role of women in party work away from stereotyping them and restricting them to women’s committees. Which would affect their empowerment and enhance their effective participation within these parties, including decision-making positions.

In the dialogue session moderated by journalist Mohammed Al-Khalidi, the participants called for activating constitutional and party reforms to serve the process of national construction, stressing the need to empower youth and women economically and politically, and amend some legal articles that contribute to increasing the effectiveness of parties and their participation in public life, in addition to developing the local administration law.

The Director General of the Al-Hayat Center – Monitor, Dr. Amer Bani Amer, confirmed that the conference constitutes an important evaluation station for the path of political modernization in the Kingdom, explaining that “Monitor” completed reports evaluating the performance of Parliament and the government during the past year, and is currently working on preparing a comprehensive report on the effectiveness of political parties, and measuring the opinions of young people about the performance of young parliamentarians, indicating that the results of these studies will be presented to decision-makers to enhance the participatory approach in developing legislation.

This conference comes at the conclusion of the project “Activating the Role of Young Women in Local Administration,” which was implemented by the Al-Hayat Center – Rasid in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation. It included training and qualifying 29 young women from various governorates, who carried out 58 awareness sessions for their peers with the aim of strengthening their roles in local administration, confirming the Center’s commitment to supporting the participation of women and youth in the paths of modernization and political reform, and strengthening the partnership between civil society institutions and government agencies to achieve sustainable development and good governance in the country. Jordan.