| 1989 Jordanian protests | |||
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| Date | 18 April 1989 – 30 May 1989 | ||
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The 1989 Jordanian protests (Arabic: هبة نيسان, April boon) started in Ma'an on 18 April after the government cut food subsidies, increasing food price. Demonstrations and riots quickly reached neighboring southern towns. Protestors accused the government of rampant corruption, and demanded that the prime minister Zaid Al-Rifai lose his job; martial law be lifted; the electoral laws be reformed; and restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of the press be removed.
The Jordanian economy was suffering a recession during that time after Jordan disengaged from the West Bank in 1988. King Hussein responded to the protests by sacking Al-Rifai, lifting martial law that had been in place since 1957, and resuming parliamentary elections that had been paused since 1967. The King also appointed a royal commission to draft the National Charter, a document with a timetable for reforms and democratization acts.
Jordan held parliamentary elections on 8 November 1989, the first in 22 years, and the National Charter was drafted in 1990. Some Arab countries, primarily Saudi Arabia, were apprehensive about Jordan's democratization.