Jordan's King Abdullah has backed proposals for constitutional reforms to devolve some of his powers to parliament and enhance civil liberties.
SOUNDBITE: King Abdullah of Jordan, saying: (Arabic)
"By establishing such liberties in the Constitution, we hope to institutionalise citizen activism and effective public participation in the legislative process as well as the formation of governments so that we can move from a phase of sloganeering to opening channels of activism and real life engagement in political parties, unions or youth movements. "
The proposal, crafted by a commission, would shift some of the king's powers to parliament, and pave the way for a prime minister selected from a parliamentary majority.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters