Middle East Memo: Jordan’s Municipal Elections
August 2, 2007
Background
For the first time ever, Jordanians went to the polls on July 31 to elect their mayors in municipal elections that have been described as part of a set of reforms that will bring greater democracy to Jordan. Recent changes in the electoral law also enabled Jordanians to elect all the members of their municipal councils, half of whom were appointed by the government under the old system, with the exception of Amman where half of the 68-member council will still be appointed by the King, as will be the mayor.
The fact that the campaign was dominated by pro-government candidates with weak domestic programs dimmed the hopes for any significant political change in the near-term. Official results released on August 1 indicate that most of the mayoral and municipal council seats were won by pro-government tribal and independent candidates, whose campaign messages for the most part showed no new ideas and ignored local issues that are of great concern to voters.
Two other events overshadowed the election results. The first was the withdrawal of the main opposition group, the Islamic Action Front (the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood), hours after the polls opened. The Islamist party cited vote rigging and isolated clashes between its supporters and security forces in several districts. The impact of their withdrawal on actual results was minimal, however, as the Islamic Action Front had only presented 33 candidates (including four women) out of the 2,325 candidates in total who were vying for the 1,022 seats up for grabs across the Kingdom. These candidates were expected to fare modestly as tribal affiliations often offset religious influence.
The second was the low turnout in urban districts – 51 percent in Amman despite the extension of voting for an extra day– suggesting a lack of confidence in the government’s reform policies and the prospects they offer for any significant change in the average Jordanian’s participation in political life.
Analysis
Opposition Coordination Hampered by Divisions between Leftists and Islamists
The coup staged by Hamas against the Palestinian National Authority in the Gaza Strip last June divided the Jordanian opposition coalition during the campaign period Islamists on the one hand who supported Hamas, and leftists who condemned it. This rift threatened the unity of the Jordanian opposition coalition for the first time since its formation 13 years ago. At least half of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian origin, and thus political alignments are often formed with a view toward Palestinian issues.
Although opposition representatives told the press that the presidency of the higher coordination committee, which represents 15 political parties including Islamists, leftists, and pan-Arabs, was trying to contain the growing internal differences between them, coordination between opposition parties during the campaign still suffered.
Structural Challenges for Liberal Candidates
A key factor contributing to the weakness of liberal political forces in Jordan is the new and highly controversial Political Parties Law which was passed by the parliament last March. The law increased the minimum number of founding members of a political party from 50 to 500 and required that members be drawn from at least five of the country's twelve governorates, with a minimum of 10 per cent from each governorate. The law also states that parties are required to submit the names of their founding members to the Ministry of the Interior, along with their annual budget.
The main effect of the law was not only to make it more difficult for liberal forces to enter the political system, but also to strengthen the Islamists relative to liberals within the opposition, as the former have a greater ability to meet the criteria for forming a political party thanks to their religious networks and resources.
A decree by the minister of social development prohibiting all civil society organizations from allowing candidates to network or campaign inside their premises further hampered the ability of liberal and reform-oriented candidates who rely on networks of civil society organization to reach out to voters.
Finally, liberal candidates were hurt by the single non-transferable vote system which makes it difficult for them to form alliances.
Low Participation of Jordanians of Palestinian Descent
Candidate registration by Jordanians of Palestinian origin was lower than expected, and not proportional to their share of the population (over 60%). The lack of political participation in general among this community can be connected to ongoing references in the public discourse of Jordanian officials to the right of return to their ancestral homes (in a future state of Palestine or perhaps even in present-day Israel). Thus, on May 10, the Prime Minister Ma’aruf al-Bakhit told citizens in Wehdat, central Amman, that a Palestinian state remains at the top of the Jordanian agenda, and that the Kingdom is committed to the Palestinian right of return. This rhetoric conveyed that the citizenship of Jordanians of Palestinian origin in the Kingdom is temporary even though most have lived in Jordan for four to six decades, and may have given Jordanians of Palestinian descent the sense that their electoral participation is insignificant.
Electoral Irregularities
The election process witnessed a number of infractions that seem to have been ignored by the authorities. There was clear evidence that tens of thousands of voter registration records were transferred from one area to another, in an attempt to consolidate citizens from specific ethnic backgrounds (specifically in the Greater Amman municipality) who were expected to favor pro-government candidates. This led some reformers to withdraw from the race in protest, in the face of their weakening chances.
According to witnesses, military and security personnel were seen casting multiple votes in city of Zarqa. Candidates complained about continuous attempts by other contestants to buy votes, with some candidates reportedly paying approximately 70 USD for each vote. Further, a number of pro-government candidates campaigned before the official allowed campaigning period: The former deputy mayor of Amman, for example, launched his public campaign 10 days before the registration period, and posted advertisement materials on websites one month before the permitted time.
Conclusion
The Jordanian government has long stressed its commitment to political reform, modernization and liberalization. While the municipal elections revealed visible gaps in this process, these and upcoming legislative elections do offer the potential to bring about better governance and increased citizen participation in political life.
A stiffening of punishments for electoral infractions and greater enforcement of the law would be a first critical step to legitimize the electoral process; it is important that the government take more steps to prevent transferring voter registration records, for example, so that candidates can compete equally in their bases.
For the upcoming legislative elections (scheduled to take place by the end of the year), the authorities should consider allowing free networking and campaigning on the premises of non-governmental civil society organizations, thus allowing moderate political forces to access voters and increase their reach in a political landscape currently dominated by tribal and Islamist actors.
Looking forward, the government might also consider amending the current municipal elections law to raise the registration level of non-Jordanian nationals in future municipal elections (as is the case in a number of European countries such as Belgium and Ireland). Jordan hosts tens of thousands of legal residents from Iraq, Egypt, South East Asia and elsewhere who should have a say in the local politics of the Kingdom. In so far as increased registration could lead to increased participation in elections, it could give rise to benefits such as further integration between citizens of different backgrounds within the Kingdom and increased interest and involvement in local democracy generally. This would support the government’s recommendations on the participation of citizens in local politics.
Finally, given that government has its own favored candidates in any elections, it should press them to develop programs that respond to the social and economic concerns of citizens, with a strong commitment to grassroots outreach and services. This is the only way to move beyond the current electoral environment where a majority of voters vote on the basis of family and tribal connections, and to counter the grassroots appeal of Islamist candidates whose commitment to democratic values of pluralism and liberty is questionable.
Sources: Jordanian media reports, including Al Ghad, Ammon News, Jordan Times, Al-Arab Al Yawm, Al- Sabeel and al-Rai.
Samer Libdeh is a senior fellow at the Center for Liberty in the Middle East.
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