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Ammon News - By Banan Malkawi

AMMONNEWS - 40 members of parliament announced late Monday evening that they will boycott the upcoming parliamentary session on Thursday in protest of the deliberations taken in the Dead Sea Casino scandal.

The 41 MPs issued a statement explaining their stance towards the parliament's deliberations on the results of the investigation into the Casino deal, signed in 2007.

They announced that they intend to boycott Thursday's session, which will commence deliberations on possible indictments of 31 other officials involved in the corruption case.

The Lower House of Parliament had voted on Monday in favor of indicting former Minister of Tourism Osama Dabbas for involvement in the scandal, while voted against charging Prime Minister Bakhit in the case, which was signed during his first term in office (2005-2007).

The decision to implicate Dabbas, but not Bakhit for involvement in the deal stirred criticism of a large number of parliamentarians.

Several MPs voiced their preference to motion withdrawing parliament's vote of confidence in Bakhit's government, which was granted in February 2011.

The lawmakers voiced objections at allowing Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to speak during Monday's session to "defend himself," while the remaining defendants in the case were not.

They charged that there have been pressures on the parliamentary ad hoc committee tasked with probing the casino case since it was formed, culminating on Monday with House Speaker Faisal Fayez preventing the committee chair, MP Khalil Attiyah, from speaking during deliberations and responding to fellow lawmakers' questions.

"This indicates that there is premeditated intent to reach the results we saw today. The results are unbalanced and unjust. This tarnishes the spirit of justice that the Parliament ought to embody."

The MPs met late Monday and declared that "this government has become a real obstacle in the path to reform, and is incompetent in meeting the aspirations of citizens and administering the affairs of the country during these extraordinary conditions."

"This government, whose premier has been indicted by 50 lawmakers, ought to submit its resignation out of ethical responsibility," they added.

The MPs intend to introduce a motion to parliament to withdraw the vote of confidence granted to Bakhit's government earlier in the year.

* Photo: MP Khalil Attiyah, who headed the parliamentary investigation committee which probed the Dead Sea Casino deal, leaving the Lower House of Parliament upset at the results of deliberations on Monday, June 27th, 2011.