Jordan: Ministers resign from al-Ayan council

Jordanian Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh said that members of the Jordanian al-Ayan council (Parliament's upper house) who were selected as members in his government on August 20 will resign from the council according to a royal order.

Upon arriving from Washington where he visited King Hussein who has been under medical treatment for cancer at the Mayo Clinic since July 14, Tarawneh said, "We had his majesty's consent" for this matter. He added that the King has asserted the need to "separate between authorities," when the former assigned him to form the government in succession of Abdul Salaam al-Majali.

Tarawneh added that the ministers who are members of the upper house must resign from the council. Even the prime minister will not be a member of the upper house, the Jordanian premier added.

An official source said the ministers concerned will resign from al-Ayan council within 24 hours. Out of 22 ministers in Tarawneh's government, only four are members of al-Ayan council which comprises 40 members appointed by the King.