– Enacted the amended Independent Election Commission Law for 2026.

– Approved the legislative rationale for the amended Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Law for 2026.

– Approved the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Board of Commissioners' decision to grant the National Water Carrier Project a package of facilities and exemptions to finalize project kickoff procedures.

– Approved the legislative rationale for the amended bylaw governing the grid connection of renewable energy facilities, clean-energy system exemptions, and energy conservation for 2026.

– Approved measures to curb fuel consumption across government vehicle fleets through electronic connectivity and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) fueling technology.

– Increased financial allocations for procuring local wheat and barley from the 2025–2026 season to JD 59 million up from JD 45 million expanding domestic purchases from Jordanian farmers from 110,000 to 147,000 tonnes.

– Approved operational measures to strengthen the Kingdom's port systems and supply chains.

– Approved a EUR 110 million EU grant agreement to support economic and social modernization under the strategic partnership between Jordan and the European Union.

– Endorsed administrative organization bylaws for the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, alongside the structural rationale for the Ministry of Health.

– Approved bonus and savings fund bylaws for employees at Mutah University and the Hashemite University.

– Dissolved the boards of directors of the Chambers of Commerce effective Sept. 27, tasking the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply with nominating temporary management committees to pave the way for upcoming elections.

AMMAN, Sept. 17 (Petra) – The Cabinet, at a session held Wednesday and chaired by Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, approved a draft law amending the Independent Election Commission Law of 2026.

The draft law was prompted by the need to update a number of provisions in line with legislative developments resulting from the political modernization process, strengthening the Commission’s ability to exercise its constitutional and legal responsibilities efficiently and effectively.

Under the proposed amendments, Commission employees would be prohibited from joining any political party for as long as they work for the Commission, in order to safeguard its neutrality. The Commission is responsible for registering political parties and following up on their affairs. The amendments would also require any Commission employee wishing to stand in an election administered or supervised by the Commission to take unpaid leave at least 90 days before the election. If elected, the employee would be deemed to have resigned.

The amendments would also update the Commission’s powers and responsibilities in line with the Political Parties Law and bring digital election campaign tools within the forms of campaigning subject to oversight to ensure compliance with the law. They would also update provisions governing Commission employees and align them with the Human Resources Management Bylaw for the public sector, strengthening institutional neutrality and improving performance efficiency.

The amendments would provide greater clarity on the scheduling of municipal elections and any other elections assigned to the Commission by the Cabinet. They would also regulate the authority to cancel or postpone voting at polling and counting centres when circumstances arise that could affect the integrity of the electoral process, ensuring that elections are conducted properly and maintaining their integrity and transparency.

The Cabinet also approved the reasons for a draft law amending the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Law of 2026.

The draft law is part of continued efforts to develop and strengthen the national framework for combating financial crimes, in line with the national interest and internationally recognised best practices and standards.

It seeks to keep the Kingdom’s framework in step with developments in international standards and practices relating to anti-money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It would strengthen the relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks while keeping pace with changes in the nature and patterns of financial crime.

The draft law also reflects the government’s approach to upholding the rule of law and protecting the integrity of the financial system by tackling organised and cross-border crime, including terrorism and its financing, financial crimes linked to corruption, drug trafficking, fraud and tax evasion.

As part of preparations to begin implementing the National Water Carrier Project, the Cabinet approved a decision by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority’s Board of Commissioners to grant the project a package of facilities and exemptions needed to proceed with implementation.

The decision is intended to facilitate the procedures required to launch the project, which is the first of its kind. It will desalinate 300 million cubic metres of seawater annually and pump the water through pipelines extending for about 450 kilometres. The project is expected to provide nearly 40 percent of the Kingdom’s drinking water needs, making it a key contributor to national water security.

The project is expected to provide an annual volume of water equivalent to the combined storage capacity of all dams in the Kingdom and nearly three times the output of the Disi Project. It will raise the annual per capita water allocation from 60 to 110 cubic metres and increase the number of days on which water is supplied from one to three days a week across all governorates of the Kingdom.

On energy supply security, the Cabinet approved the reasons for a draft bylaw amending the Bylaw Regulating the Connection of Renewable Energy Source Facilities to the Electricity System and Exempting Renewable Energy Source Systems and Rationalising Energy Consumption for 2026.

The draft bylaw would allow citizens and economic sectors to benefit more fully and efficiently from renewable energy by providing greater flexibility for self-generation, encouraging electricity storage and promoting more efficient consumption. It would also improve the viability of investment in clean energy, increase the electricity system’s ability to accommodate additional renewable energy capacity, and maintain a stable and reliable electricity grid for all subscribers.

The draft bylaw builds on the Kingdom’s progress in renewable energy, which now accounts for about 27 percent of electricity generation needs. The Energy Sector Strategy for 2025–2035 aims to raise this share to 40 percent by 2035, increasing reliance on domestic energy sources and reducing dependence on imported conventional energy.

The draft bylaw is also part of a broader effort to strengthen the role of renewable energy in the national energy mix and expand the electricity system’s capacity to accommodate additional renewable energy safely and sustainably. It is in line with the strategic targets of the national energy sector and supports the Kingdom’s international commitments to reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change.

The proposed rules would give citizens and establishments greater flexibility in meeting their electricity needs through renewable energy, while encouraging them to store electricity for later use. They would also provide citizens and investors with a clearer framework before deciding to invest in renewable energy by setting out permitted capacities, connection mechanisms, storage requirements and energy-efficiency requirements.

The expansion of energy storage and energy-efficiency systems would also help develop services linked to the clean energy sector, including the design, installation and maintenance of renewable energy systems and batteries, as well as energy auditing services and energy-efficiency solutions. This would support the development of local expertise and services in the growing sector.

The draft bylaw was prepared following discussions with government and regulatory bodies, electricity companies, representatives of economic sectors, specialists and renewable energy investors. It was also based on a regulatory impact assessment aimed at encouraging investment in and expansion of clean energy.

Implementation of the amended bylaw will be monitored and evaluated using indicators measuring the expansion of renewable energy projects, installed electricity generation capacity, additional storage capacity and their impact on the electricity system. A comprehensive review will be conducted three years after the bylaw enters into force to develop the relevant procedures, assess the extent to which its objectives have been achieved, and evaluate its impact on electricity tariffs and the stability of the national electricity system.

Separately, the Cabinet approved a number of measures to control and rationalise fuel consumption by government vehicles and machinery through electronic connectivity and the exchange of data needed to implement Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for electronic fuel dispensing.

The move is part of a broader government drive towards digital transformation and data-driven oversight. It will make fuel-dispensing operations more transparent and easier to monitor and hold accountable, while reducing waste, improving the efficiency of government fleet management, protecting public funds and rationalising operating expenditure.

The measures require users of government vehicles to record and monitor fuel purchases electronically and automatically, without human intervention.

The wider use of the technology builds on practical experience that has demonstrated its effectiveness. It has already been deployed on vehicles belonging to a number of government entities, demonstrating the feasibility of extending it more widely across the public sector.

Electronic fuel-dispensing technology links the fuelling process electronically to the government vehicle itself, allowing fuel quantities and dispensing data to be recorded automatically, without human intervention in recording values and quantities. This reduces reliance on manual procedures.

The technology does more than document fuelling operations. It also allows fuel data to be linked to the movement and actual use of government vehicles, making it possible to compare the amount of fuel dispensed with the vehicle’s actual use and identify any abnormal or unjustified consumption more quickly and accurately.

The system will be rolled out across all ministries, government departments, public institutions and authorities, municipalities, joint services councils, the Greater Amman Municipality and wholly government-owned companies. This will standardise mechanisms for controlling fuel consumption and strengthen oversight across public-sector institutions.

To strengthen the strategic stockpile of wheat and barley, the Cabinet approved an increase in the financial allocations earmarked for purchasing locally produced wheat and barley from the 2025/2026 agricultural season to JD59 million from JD45 million. The decision will also increase the quantities purchased from Jordanian farmers from 110,000 tonnes to 147,000 tonnes, with the aim of strengthening the strategic stockpile.

This is the second time the government has increased the financial allocations for purchasing locally produced wheat and barley. In June, it doubled the allocation to JD45 million from JD19 million the previous year to purchase wheat and barley from farmers. The quantity to be purchased was then estimated at about 110,000 tonnes, more than double the 40,000 tonnes purchased during the previous season.

The decisions are intended to support farmers and encourage them to expand the areas planted with wheat and barley, given the strategic importance of the two crops.

To safeguard the continuity of supplies of basic goods and commodities, the Cabinet approved a number of measures to address operational challenges facing the Kingdom’s ports and supply chains.

The measures include extending the free period for national exports at Aqaba Container Terminal from seven days to 14 days for six months, effective immediately.

They also include reducing the fee payable by liable parties for the destruction of goods from JD450 per tonne or part thereof to JD50 per tonne or part thereof. The measure will be implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Finance for three months, effective immediately, and subject to the conditions set by the Cabinet.

The measures build on earlier steps taken by the government to increase capacity and flexibility, including expanding storage yards and logistics centres, developing supporting infrastructure and logistics services, and establishing alternative routes such as multimodal sea and land transport systems to ensure greater flexibility and speed.

They also include expediting customs clearance procedures, reducing cargo dwell times, transferring part of the clearance process to Amman Customs, and exempting transit trips operating through border crossings from the applicable trip limit for three months.

The measures further include increasing the number of daily trips permitted for container trucks to nine, allowing technically equipped trucks that meet public safety requirements to carry two 20-foot containers per truck, and giving priority in handling, customs clearance and release to domestic food products, imports destined for the local market and national exports, among other measures.

The decision is part of government efforts to strengthen the readiness of Aqaba’s ports and the transport and logistics system to deal with the impact of regional conditions on shipping operations and supply chains. It is also intended to speed up customs clearance and cargo handling, increase capacity, provide alternative supply routes and support national exports, while maintaining the flow of goods into the Kingdom and limiting the costs of delays for consumers and economic sectors.

The measures are directly aimed at benefiting citizens and the national economy by maintaining the regular flow of goods to markets, reducing waiting times and limiting additional costs resulting from delays. They will also support national exports and trade activity, helping ensure the availability of goods needed by citizens and improving the efficiency and reliability of Aqaba Port as the Kingdom’s main economic gateway and a key hub for regional trade.

Government measures introduced over the past period have already produced tangible results. The average dwell time for transit containers at the port has fallen from about 15 days to around 12 days, while the average dwell time for incoming local containers is about eight days. The daily capacity of container exit gates has also increased from around 900 to 1,200 containers.

These measures have helped ease pressure on the port and enabled goods, particularly foodstuffs, to reach local markets more quickly and regularly.

Within the framework of the strategic and comprehensive partnership between Jordan and the European Union, the Cabinet approved a EUR110 million grant agreement provided by the EU to implement a multi-sector programme through the General Budget in support of economic and social modernisation programmes.

The programme covers three areas: economic governance, human capital and the green economy. The grant will be disbursed in two instalments, with the first, worth EUR38.5 million, to be provided at the end of this year and the second, worth EUR71.5 million, at the end of next year.

The programme aims to improve the business environment, strengthen public financial management, and develop energy, water and clean transport services, employment, education, vocational and technical training, research and innovation.

Regarding legislation governing the work of institutions, the Cabinet approved two administrative organisation bylaws for the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission. It also approved the reasons for an administrative organisation bylaw for the Ministry of Health.

The bylaws are intended to develop the administrative structures of the institutions concerned, enabling them to carry out their functions more efficiently, strengthen governance and keep pace with best practices.

Regarding matters related to Jordanian universities, the Cabinet approved two bylaws governing bonuses and savings funds for employees of Mutah University and The Hashemite University.

The bylaws aim to regulate bonus provisions for employees at the two universities and strengthen the governance and management of their savings funds and all related matters, promoting fairness and transparency and ensuring that eligible employees benefit from them.

On another matter, the Cabinet decided to dissolve the boards of directors of chambers of commerce effective Sept. 27 and tasked the Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply with submitting the names of members of the chambers’ management committees to the Cabinet, in preparation for elections in accordance with the applicable legislation.

//Petra// AA