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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Prime Minister Hani Mulki, Friday, said the recent local and decentralization polls were a milestone in the comprehensive reform process in Jordan.

Speaking to 60 Minutes program, Mulki said Jordanian are exercising their franchise, at the same time where other regional countries suffer turmoil. Further, he thanked the citizens who casted their ballot and said the turnout was good and stood at 31.7%, compared with 24% in the 2013 elections. The prime minister also spoke about the decentralization, which is a new experiment in Jordan, voicing hope it would give a bigger say to local councils. This scheme, he added, would give more room to the lawmakers to focus on legislations and monitor the government's performance.

Mulki touched on the reform process in the Kingdom, affirming it is not limited to economic reform, but rather it is a comprehensive process. Further, he underlined the importance of reform in the public sector to streamline citizens transactions and enable them to receive better services.

On the economic front, the prime minister spoke about measures taken by his government to address the budget deficit, while reiterating that increasing prices is always the last resort. He spoke about measures to address the growing unemployment, which hit 18.2 percent.

As for ties with Israel, the prime minister said the nature of ties will depend on the outcomes of the embassy incident investigation. He also defended the measures his government took regarding the incident. The government, upon directives of His Majesty King Abdullah, is following up on the case, adding that the government will defend the rights of Jordanians and will ensure justice is achieved and the offender is brought to justice.