Jordan PM-Designate in Talks with Opposition

Jordan's prime minister-designate Awn Khasawneh is in talks with the opposition and is expected to announce his reform-mandated government at the weekend, a senior official said on Wednesday.

"Khasawneh began his meetings with the opposition. He is expected to present the composition of his government to King Abdullah II on Saturday," the official told Agence France Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Khasawneh met on Tuesday with former premier Ahmad Obeidat, who now heads the National Front for Reform formed in April and which groups Islamists, leftists, trade unionists and independents.

Obeidat told the press that he was "satisfied and hopeful" after the appointment of Khasawneh, 61, who has been a judge at The Hague-based International Court of Justice since 2000.

The king on Monday announced the appointment of Khasawneh as prime minister to replace Marruf Bakhit, with political reform as the top priority.

The judge had been expected to meet either Wednesday or Thursday with the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, hoping to persuade it to join his government.

But IAF chief Hamzeh Mansour told AFP on Wednesday his party has not yet been invited to meet with Khasawneh. He has previously said the Islamists would "wait and see the cabinet line-up, its plans and actions" before making a decision.

The Islamists had refused to join the government of Bakhit, who was named in February and had been accused of failing to meet public demands for much-demanded political reforms.

The king on Tuesday told the newly appointed intelligence chief Major General Feisal Shobaki to support the reform process "in full respect of the institutional and legal frameworks, human rights and freedoms."

Jordan has been the scene of protests since January to demand sweeping economic and political reform as well as tougher anti-corruption measures.