In a shocking incident, a fight broke out in the Jordanian parliament recently during a fiery debate about constitutional reforms. According to reports, a brawl took place regarding amendments to the country’s constitution, following which MPs were caught punching and shoving each other whilst exchanging furious insults.
In the parliament session on 28 December, several deputies had come together to discuss a draft amendment about adding the Arabic female noun for a Jordanian citizen in the chapter of the Jordanian constitution that guarantees equal rights to all its citizens.
According to a Daily Mail report, the fight broke out between Parliament House Speaker Abdul Karim Dughmi and Deputy Suleiman Abu Yahya.
The argument turned into a fistfight after Abu Yahya accused Dughmi of being ‘unable to run the show’. He also claimed the House Speaker knew ‘nothing’ on the Al-Mamlaka television channel. While responding to him, Dughmi angrily said; “Shut up and leave the hall”, following which he walked out angrily. Amid the heated discussion, one deputy staff member fell to the ground during the brawl, forcing the session to be adjourned.
According to reports, no one was injured in the fistfight.
Watch the video here:
Several deputies traded punches in a brawl in Jordan’s parliament after a verbal row escalated when the assembly speaker called on a deputy to leave, witnesses said https://t.co/4WVq2L1Div pic.twitter.com/RqA04SZHeY
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 28, 2021
For the unversed, Jordan’s Constitutional has been amended 29 times since 1952.
The amendments that were proposed to the constitution this year by a royal commission would give the nation’s MPs the power to select their prime minister. However, critics state that the amendments would further increase the king’s powers.
According to France24, the amendments since 1952 have led to a reduction in the powers of the legislature and accumulation of power in the hands of the monarch.
The other proposed amendments included the creation of a National Security Council and reducing the speaker’s mandate to one year from two years. The parliament session was adjourned to Wednesday after the brawl.