Tarawneh elected as new house speaker of Jordan

Jordanian Lower House on Sunday elected deputy Atef Tarawneh as its new speaker, in a vote following King Abdullah's inauguration of the 17th Jordanian parliament's ordinary session. Tarawneh won 60 votes in a first round ballot in the 148-seat chamber, well short of a majority. But his closest contender, former speaker Abdul Karim Dughmi, who won 43 votes, pulled out from the race in favour of Tarawneh, while incumbent Saad Hayel Srour won 37 votes. The withdrawal prompted deputy Mohammad al Haj, who chaired the session as the oldest MP under the chamber's rules of procedure, to declare Tarawneh the winner. A total of 145 MPs had cast ballots, but the committee overseeing the vote found one white paper and annulled four others.