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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - In a meeting with members of the Lower House of Parliament, King Abdullah II on Sunday stressed the priority of modernizing and institutionalizing the performance of parliament to reach the desired vision towards a parliamentary government.

The King stressed the importance of gradual inclusion of MPs as ministers in the government, prioritizing instead modernization of the parliament's by-laws, and developing a parliamentary code of conduct to institutionalize the work of parliamentary blocs in a manner that guarantees separation and balance between powers and oversight mechanisms.

"If the ultimate objective for reform is a comprehensive parliamentary government, then is the priority the inclusion of MPs into the government or the modernization and institutionalization of the Lower House?" the King asked.

Addressing the MPs, the King called on them to "think about it and consider the national interest," laying the responsibility of the success of a parliamentary system of governments on them "first and foremost."

The King called on parliamentary blocs to transition into political parties, in an effort to enrich and develop political life in the kingdom.

The King's statements on Sunday comes in the context of a alleged pledges made by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour to members of the House to include them in the government in a cabinet reshuffle in return for gaining a vote-of-confidence from them in last month's deliberations.

The King stressed the importance of Parliament's responsibilities in deliberating and passing necessary and urgent legislations that were noted in the Speech from the Throne following the Parliamentary elections held in January.

He called on the lawmakers to reach out to their constituents and relay to them objectively the challenges facing Jordan, and engage them in decision making.

In his address, the king reiterated the need for real cooperation between the legislative and executive branches as a prerequisite for the success of Jordan's reform process, and in addressing the problems of poverty, unemployment, and development in the governorates.

"Our people practice oversight on the performance of the two powers, and will judge this performance," the King said.

In the meeting with the 150-members of the Lower House held at the Royal Court, the King stressed the need for coordination between the three branches of the state in administering the rule of law to combat the dangerous and escalating phenomenon of violence in society and universities.

"The supremacy of law is the most important pillar of the state, which is the real guarantee for the democratic process, and the security of citizens and the stability of the country,"" the King said, stressing that such violence will not be tolerated.

He called on the three branches of government, the legislative, executive, and judiciary, to cooperate and coordinate in the legislation and implementation of laws adopting a zero-tolerance approach to combat the phenomenon of social and university violence.

On the ongoing crisis in neighboring Syria, King Abdullah reassured the MPs that Jordan is taking all measures to ensure the security and stability of the country from any possible spillover from the crisis.

He noted that extensive diplomatic efforts are being made to reach a comprehensive political transition solution that would help Syria evade the dangers of disintegration or collapse.