Ammon News - AMMAN (Petra) – Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said on Saturday that his government will now open the door for appointments to senior positions at government agencies, which had been temporarily halted over the past months due to concerns that such appointments might interfere with parliamentary elections and deliberations of the government’s policy statement.

Ensour said, as he chaired a meeting of the budget advisory council, attended by cabinet ministers and the central bank governor, that the government will adopt clear merit-based criteria as the mechanism for appointments to top civil service jobs according to Civil Service Bureau regulations.

Ensour, whose government won a vote of confidence at the Lower House on Tuesday following a week-long debate, has promised lawmakers that appointments will resume "in a thorough manner to meet the actual needs of ministries, departments and governmental units of technical and specialized manpower." During today's meeting, agreement was reached to fill vacancies in various ministries and units according to their real needs and where financial allocations are available.

Ensour also instructed officials to "speedily" issue the government job manning table before May 25 and not to wait until the end of the year, as was previously the practice, to give additional months for youths to fill vacant positions.

"Not a single employee will be appointed under pressure from anyone, whatsoever. We will not allow any Jordanian to take another's right to employment unless he is more qualified than him," he added, pledging fairness and transparency in the process of appointments, decisions and regulations.