By AFP
AMMAN: Jordan said on Wednesday that Justice Minister Salim Zubi has resigned for health reasons, but local media reported he quit in protest over a new electoral law.
State news agency Petra said Zubi stepped down leading to a minor cabinet reshuffle as King Abdullah II replaced him with legal affairs minister, Ibrahim Jazi, who also retained his own portfolio.
Media reports, however, suggested that Zubi quit Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh’s cabinet on April 2 due to “dissatisfaction with the elections law.” The reports did not elaborate further.
The electoral law has been adopted by the government on Saturday and is currently awaiting parliamentary approval.
Khasawneh, who formed his government in October, told reporters on Monday that Zubi had submitted his resignation but it was “still under consideration.”
“I have asked him to take a leave, because he was tired, and make up his mind later. He has repeatedly said he wanted to resign due to health matters,” said the prime minister.
“It is not true that he had disagreements with the government over the elections law.”
The proposed electoral law scraps a contested one-person-one-vote system and increases a quota for women MPs. The powerful Islamist opposition slammed it for limiting seats allocated to political parties.
