Pressure mounts on Jordanian government to resign

The protesters, who mainly belonged to the Islamic-led opposition parties and trade unions, raised placard and chanted slogans calling on the government of Prime Minister Samir Rifai to resign.
They also rebuked the House of Representatives, which was holding an ordinary session, for granting Rifa’s government confidence with an unprecedented large majority a month ago.
Several lawmakers left their seats under the dome to join the demonstrators, eyewitnesses said.
The participants urged speedy political reforms, including the amendment of the election law, which they said produced a lower house that did not properly represent the people in the Nov. 9 parliamentary elections.
The Islamic Action Front (IAF) and its mother group, the Muslim Brotherhood movement, boycotted the polls, citing the government’s failure to adopt a proportional representation system.
The participants in Sunday’s demonstration also praised the Tunisian uprising that forced Ben Ali to flee outside the country.
In a parallel move, at least 11 deputies signed a petition urging the government to resign after it failed to address the worsening economic conditions, including rising prices of staple goods and fuel, parliamentary sources said.
“It has become clear that, after about one year of taking up duties, this government is unable to carry on properly and that it should leave before conditions deteriorate further,” said the deputies, mostly pro-regime lawmakers.
Thousand of Jordanians, who mainly belong to trade and underprivileged groups, took part in demonstrations across Jordan on Friday to protest worsening living conditions and call on Rifai to step down.