RASED Issues Report Monitoring Parliamentary Performance During the Second Parliamentary Sessi
One-third of MPs did not submit questions during Parliament’s Second Ordinary Session
770 parliamentary questions submitted during the Second Ordinary Session, only 9 of which were discussed.
8 parliamentary interpellations submitted, with 25% answered.
Al-Ummah, Azm, and Mubadara blocs recorded the highest number of parliamentary questions during the Second Ordinary Session.
For the second consecutive year, the House did not discuss any interpellation.
25% of government-submitted legislation was amended by permanent committees.
The Public Services and Transport, Finance, Energy, Labour, and Education Committees were the most active.
The Executive Bureau held 7 meetings during the Second Ordinary Session.
96% of legislative amendments proposed by parliamentary committees were approved by the House of Representatives.
Amman – Tuesday
Following the conclusion of the Second Ordinary Session of the 20th House of Representatives, Al-Hayat Center – RASED issued its preliminary report on the performance of the House of Representatives. This report forms part of a series of reports that will be issued successively to document and monitor the performance of the House during its second session. The report is based on RASED’s methodology for ensuring the systematic flow of information related to parliamentary performance.
The report’s findings showed that the House of Representatives held 42 working days during its second session, distributed between 31 legislative working days and 11 oversight working days. A total of 23 pieces of legislation submitted by the government were placed on the House agenda, of which 19 were passed. This marks an increase of four pieces of legislation compared with the First Ordinary Session, during which 15 pieces of legislation were passed. The House also discussed the 2024 Audit Bureau Report. In addition, MPs submitted eight draft law proposals, which were referred to the competent committees, although none were passed. Compared with the First Ordinary Session, the number of draft law proposals declined, as 26 proposals had been submitted during that session.
As part of its monitoring of legislative performance, Al-Hayat Center – RASED continued tracking the progress of legislation within parliamentary committees during the Second Ordinary Session. This was conducted through the tool recently launched by RASED to measure the quality of legislative performance in the House of Representatives. The tool aims to assess the extent of legislative engagement by committees with draft laws referred by the government, and the degree to which committee amendments are reflected in plenary discussions under the Dome.
The tracking results showed that the number of articles amended by the government reached 448, while parliamentary committees introduced 111 amendments to these articles. The analysis also showed that 96% of committee amendments were approved during House discussions, while 4% were further amended during plenary deliberations. The nature of committee amendments was distributed as follows: 44 cases of text addition, 31 cases of deletion and addition, 15 cases of text deletion, 10 cases of rephrasing, three cases of text amendment, one case of correcting a spelling error, and six cases that were not approved. These indicators highlight the important role played by parliamentary committees in reviewing legislative texts before they are presented to the House.
On the oversight side, members of the House of Representatives submitted 770 parliamentary questions, with 66% of MPs participating in submitting questions. Meanwhile, 34% of MPs did not submit any questions during the Second Ordinary Session. Compared with the First Ordinary Session, 77% of MPs had submitted questions. By comparison, 67% of MPs in the 19th House submitted questions during its Second Ordinary Session, while 56% of MPs in the 18th House submitted questions during the same session. The report also noted that the government responded to 75% of parliamentary questions.
In a related context, the analysis of the distribution of parliamentary questions highlighted several MPs in terms of frequency of submission. MP Waleed Al-Masri topped the list of MPs who submitted the highest number of parliamentary questions, followed by Hussein Al-Amoush, Adnan Mashouqa, Ahmad Al-Raqab, Firas Al-Qablan, Dima Tahboub, Ahmad Al-Hmeisat, Motaz Abu Rumman, Samer Al-Azaydeh, Hussein Al-Tarawneh, and Khalifa Al-Diyat.
An analysis of the questions listed on the agendas of oversight sessions showed that the House included 44 questions on its agendas, of which 41 were discussed. Tracking the listed questions revealed that 80% had been submitted during the first year, while 20% were submitted during the Second Ordinary Session, amounting to nine questions.
Regarding parliamentary memoranda, the report showed that MPs submitted 74 memoranda during the Second Ordinary Session. These included 59 memoranda submitted by individual MPs, 11 memoranda adopted by parliamentary committees, and four memoranda submitted by parliamentary blocs. At the individual level, MPs Al-Masri and Dina Al-Bashir topped the list of those who submitted the highest number of memoranda. At the committee level, the Administrative Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee stood out as the committees that submitted the highest number of memoranda. At the bloc level, Al-Ummah Bloc, formerly the Islamic Action Front Bloc, submitted two memoranda, while the Mithaq and Azm blocs submitted one memorandum each. The response rate to memoranda reached 70%. Compared with the First Ordinary Session, the number of memoranda increased, as 36 memoranda had been submitted during that session.
With regard to proposals with recommendation, the report showed that this oversight tool continued to be used during the Second Ordinary Session, with a notable increase in its number. A total of 62 proposals were submitted, including 60 by individual MPs and two by parliamentary blocs. At the individual level, MP Al-Masri topped the list with 32 proposals, followed by MP Wisam Arbayhat with eight proposals. Compared with the First Ordinary Session, the use of this tool increased, as 34 proposals with recommendation had been submitted during that session by 16 male and female parliamentarians.
Regarding interpellations, the report showed that the House of Representatives submitted eight interpellations during the Second Ordinary Session, presented by seven MPs. MP Waleed Al-Masri topped the list with two interpellations, while the remaining interpellations were submitted at one each by MPs Dima Tahboub, Hamza Al-Hawamdeh, Hassan Al-Riyati, Yousef Al-Rawadiah, Hakam Al-Maadat, and Lubna Al-Nimour. Two out of the eight interpellations were answered. However, the House did not discuss any interpellation under the Dome during the Second Ordinary Session. By comparison, seven interpellations had been submitted by six MPs during the First Ordinary Session, none of which were discussed.
As for permanent parliamentary committees, the report showed notable activity during the Second Ordinary Session. The committees carried out 353 activities, including meetings, field visits, and encounters. The Public Services and Transport Committee ranked first among the most active committees, with 54 activities, followed by the Finance Committee with 53 activities, the Energy and Mineral Resources Committee with 25 activities, the Labour, Social Development and Population Committee with 23 activities, and the Education Committee with 22 activities.
The Economy and Investment Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee each recorded 19 activities, followed by the Legal Committee, the Administrative Committee, and the Palestine Committee, each with 16 activities. The Health and Food Committee, the Agriculture and Water Committee, and the Environment and Climate Committee each carried out 13 activities. The Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Committee recorded 11 activities, while the Youth and Sports and Culture Committee and the Tourism and Antiquities Committee each recorded nine activities. The National Guidance and Media Committee and the Women and Family Affairs Committee each carried out eight activities. Meanwhile, the Public Freedoms and Human Rights Committee and the Rural and Badia Committee recorded the lowest number of activities, with three activities each.
Compared with the First Ordinary Session, permanent committees had carried out 297 activities, reflecting the continuation of parliamentary committee work at relatively similar levels across the two sessions.
In the context of organizing parliamentary work, the report showed that the Executive Bureau of the House of Representatives held seven meetings during the Second Ordinary Session.
