Jordanian king receives reply letter from PM

His Majesty King Abdullah II received a reply from Prime Minister Abdullah Enosur in response to a letter sent earlier by the King to him, requesting the premier to start activating the defense ministry as a national institution for the advancement of political, economic, legal and logistic missions for national defense.
In his letter, the King had directed the government to give the Independent Elections Commission a larger role in overseeing future elections, including municipal polls.
In his reply letter, Ensour pledged the government's commitment to draft a detailed plan to activate the role of the Defense Ministry and expand the role of the Independent Elections Commission to oversee elections.
He said that the plan will focus on achieving reforms, deepening democratic transformation and finding the legal means to ensure that the armed forces and security agencies remain completely professional.
The government, Ensour said, requests His Majesty to make two constitutional amendments to achieve these reforms.
The first is to give the authority to appoint the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the director of the Intelligence Department to the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the head of the state, as an assertion of the historical role of the Hashemite Monarchy as a unifying element and a guarantor of efforts to preserve national security and defend the country's accomplishments.
The second constitutional amendment, he added, is for expanding the role of the Independent Elections Commission to manage and oversee all elections.
Ensour pledged that the government will put in place all necessary legislation once the two constitutional amendments are made to implement the reforms in line with the Royal vision.