AMMAN: The majority Jordanians are dissatisfied with the performance of the lower house of Parliament since its election two years ago, with quarter of the population supporting the dissolution of the chamber, according to a poll released yesterday.
The survey, which was conducted by the state-funded Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan, showed that 53 percent of citizens were critical of the house’s performance in general while 56 percent said that they were not satisfied with the deputies representing them.
The poll also revealed public conviction that the 110-member house had failed to address key local problems, mainly corruption, restricted freedoms and economies woes.
At least 71 percent of respondents said they were unable to name achievements by the house over the past two years since its election, which was marred by accusations of rigging and vote buying.
“The inability of people to name any achievements of the incumbent house and the negative feedback on its performance means that the general public are not optimistic that lawmakers will live up to the expectations of citizens” in the remaining two years of the chamber’s life, said pollster Mohammad Masri.
The survey is set to fuel calls by the Islamic-led opposition and the press for the dissolution of the lower house, observers said. The poll involved in-person interviews with 1,764 respondents out of 1,830 people. Sixty-six refused to respond, while the margin of error was put at 2 percent.
Meanwhile, four Jordanian Islamists have been arrested for allegedly planning attacks on Israel in retaliation for the “massacres” it committed during its 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip in January, judicial sources said yesterday. More than 1,300 Palestinians were killed and about 4,000 wounded in the Gaza attack.
