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Ammon News - AMMAN — The future of municipalities and the fate of municipal elections hinges on the positions taken by lawmakers on the thorny issues involved and the upcoming government reshuffle, a senior official said.

He added that the Syrian crisis is also a key element in the issue.

The Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted the unnamed official as saying that local polls are not likely to be delayed (beyond September) unless in case of an “force majeure” imposed by the Syrian crisis.

The municipal elections have been delayed twice.

In December, the Cabinet decided to postpone municipal elections for six months as of March 14, 2013. The decision was made for the “public interest and to ensure the soundness of the elections”.

In November, the Higher Judicial Council’s law interpretation bureau ruled that municipal elections could be delayed again, saying that the law only specified the delay for six months, without limiting the number of delays.

The Cabinet in May delayed the polls, which were supposed to be held in September 2012, after seeking the bureau’s opinion.

The bureau noted that postponing the elections is only permissible if the delay would be of benefit to the general public.

The decision to delay the elections twice stemmed from the need to address the “huge” budget deficit suffered by municipalities, which reached JD98 million as a result of “arbitrary” appointments; more than 2,500 employees have been recruited in municipalities in violation of regulations.

The government intends to regulate the appointments and hold those responsible accountable, the official told Petra.

However, the source said that the loopholes cannot be addressed unless the Municipalities Law is amended, Petra reported. (Jordan Times)