Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh submitted his resignation on Sunday, officials familiar with the matter said, less than week after a parliamentary election that saw some gains for the Islamist opposition in the US-allied kingdom.
Jordan’s King Abdullah accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh’s government, ordering it to stay in a caretaker capacity until the formation of a new cabinet, a royal palace statement followed the government’s request.
US-educated Jafar Hassan, now head of King Abdullah’s office and a former planning minister, is expected to replace Khasawneh, a veteran diplomat and former palace avisor who was appointed nearly four years ago, the officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Hassan will face the challenges of mitigating the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on the kingdom’s economy, hard hit by curbs to investment and a sharp drop in tourism.
Khasawneh resigns whilst pushing growth reform
The outgoing prime minister had sought to push reforms pushed by King Abdullah to help reverse a decade of sluggish growth hovering at around 2% that was worsened by the pandemic and conflict in neighboring Iraq and Syria.
The Muslim Brotherhood opposition and ideological allies of Palestinian militant group Hamas made significant gains in Tuesday’s election, boosted by anger over Israel’s war in Gaza.
The new composition of the 138 member parliament retains a pro-government majority, but a more vocal Islamist-led opposition could challenge IMF-led free-market reforms and foreign policy.
