Main article: Politics of Jordan
Jordan is a constitutional monarchy, but the King holds wide executive and legislative powers. He serves as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief and appoints the prime minister and heads of security directorates. The prime minister is free to choose his own cabinet and regional governors.[11] However, the king may dissolve parliament and dismiss the government.[93] The capital city of Jordan is Amman, located in north-central Jordan.[8]
The current King of Jordan is Abdullah II who assumed the throne in 1999.
Jordan has around 50 political parties representing nationalist, Islamist, leftist and liberal ideologies.[99] Political parties contested a fifth of the seats in the 2016 elections, the remainder belonging to independent politicians.[100] The government can be dismissed by a two-thirds vote of "no confidence" by the House of Representatives. Political parties come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior, and may not be established on the basis of religion.[101]
The Constitution of Jordan was adopted in 1952 and has been amended a number of times, most recently in 2016.[102] Article 97 of Jordan's constitution guarantees the independence of the judicial branch, stating that judges are "subject to no authority but that of the law." Article 99 divides the courts into three categories: civil, religious, and special. The civil courts deal with civil and criminal matters, and have jurisdiction over all persons in all matters civil and criminal, including cases brought against the government. The civil courts include Magistrate Courts, Courts of First Instance, Courts of Appeal,[103] High Administrative Courts which hear cases relating to administrative matters,[104] and the Constitutional Court which was set up in 2012 in order to hear cases regarding the constitutionality of laws.[105] The religious court system's jurisdiction extends to matters of personal status such as divorce and inheritance, and is partially based on Sharia Islamic law.[106] The special court deals with cases forwarded by the civil one.[107]
The current monarch, Abdullah II, ascended the throne in February 1999 after the death of his father Hussein. Abdullah reaffirmed Jordan's commitment to the peace treaty with Israel and its relations with the United States. He refocused the government's agenda on economic reform, during his first year. King Abdullah's eldest son, Prince Hussein is the current Crown Prince of Jordan.[108] The current prime minister is Hani Al-Mulki who received his position on 29 May 2016.[109]
According to Freedom House, Jordan is ranked as the 4th freest Arab country, and as "partly free" in the Freedom in the World 2017 report.[110] The 2010 Arab Democracy Index from the Arab Reform Initiative ranked Jordan first in the state of democratic reforms out of fifteen Arab countries.[111] Jordan ranked first among the Arab states and 78th globally in the Human Freedom Index in 2015,[112] and ranked 55th out of 175 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) issued by Transparency International in 2014, where 175th is most corrupt.[113] In the 2016 Press Freedom Index maintained by Reporters Without Borders, Jordan ranked 135th out of 180 countries worldwide, and 5th of 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. Jordan's score was 44 on a scale from 0 (most free) to 105 (least free). The report added "the Arab Spring and the Syrian conflict have led the authorities to tighten their grip on the media and, in particular, the Internet, despite an outcry from civil society".[114] Jordanian media consists of public and private institutions. Popular Jordanian newspapers include: Ammon News, Ad-Dustour and Jordan Times. The most two watched local TV stations are Ro'ya TV and Jordan TV.[115] Internet penetration in Jordan reached 76% in 2015.[116]
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