2013 Jordanian Parliamentary Election - Jan 23,2013

Prior to the elections a new electoral law was passed, allowing voters to cast two ballots; one for a candidate in their constituency and one for party lists elected by proportional representation at the national level.

In addition, the number of seats reserved for candidates of political parties was raised from 17 to 27 out of the 140 seats in the ''House of Representatives'',the Jordanian Parliament

A total of 1,400 candidates registered to contest the elections, of which 22 are described as Islamists.

Polling stations opened across Jordan at 07:00 (04:00 GMT) on Jan 23,2013Wednesday and at least 125,000 people, or 5% of the 2.4 million eligible voters, cast their ballots in the first two hours.

Jordanians are voting in parliamentary elections which the government has said mark the start of a gradual process to bring greater democracy to the country.

For the first time, King Abdullah is set to appoint a prime minister from among the members of the largest blocs, or else someone approved by them.
However, the largest opposition parties are boycotting the vote in protest at changes made to the electoral system.
They complain that the system is rigged in favour of supporters of the king.

Jordanian Elections 2013

• 2.27 million registered voters of a population of 6.9 million
• 150 seats in parliament: 27 chosen through proportional representation on nationwide party lists, 15 go to female candidates by quota and the remainder are chosen by first past the post constituency system
• Independent Electoral Commission set up to deal with complaints of fraud
• Islamic Action Front, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, boycotting poll
• Voter turnout was reported to be 56.6%
• Around 70% of eligible voters were reported to have registered to vote. Although over two-third of the population lived in urban areas at the time of the election, cities were allocated less than one-third of seats in the House of Representatives
• An estimated 2.3 million Jordanians are eligible to vote at 1,484 polling stations, choosing from 1,425 candidates, vying for a four-year term in the 150-seat lower house of parliament
• The Brotherhood and the National Reform Front of former prime minister and intelligence chief Ahmad Obeidat are staying away from the polls
• The Muslim Brotherhood is the single most popular party in Jordan, with strong support in cities, especially among poorer Palestinians who live there Jordan elections
  
  
• 2,272,182 registered voters; male: 48% female: 52%
• 45 local electoral districts
• 70% of eligible voters are registered for the polls
• 1,425 candidates for parliament, including 191 women
• 7,013 local observers monitoring polls
• 493 international observers from international missions monitoring polls
• 47,000 police and Gendarmerie personnel deployed to polling stations on Tuesday
• Additional 1,000 will remain on standby on election day
• 1,484 polling/counting centres
• Of the total 150 seats, 27 lower house seats allocated for national lists and 123 allocated for local districts
• 123 seats for local districts: women: 15, Bedouin: 9, Christians: 9, Circassians/Chechens: 3
• Distribution of seats to governorates: Amman: 25, Irbed: 17, Balqa: 10, Karak: 10, Ma'an: 4, Zarqa: 11, Mafraq:4, Tafila: 4, Madaba:4,Jerash: 4, Ajloun: 4, Aqaba: 2, Badia: 9

New Jordanian Parliament
Jordan’s new parliament suffers from numerous shortcomings because of the boycott by certain major political forces of its recent election. As a result of the boycott, parliament now consists mostly of former members of parliament

3 candidates from the owners of local TV channels succeeded and, for the first time, two blood brothers will enter the Jordanian parliament.
 
34 candidates from the previous parliament retained their seats and twenty-six candidates from parliaments before that were elected. These comprise 40% of the members of the new chamber. 

4 women won by competing for the first time in the history of the parliament. The number of women in the new chamber is now 19.

The teachers’ union got 3 seats. 

Islamic Centrist Party which won 16 seats.  
 

84 years of elections in Jordan -1929-2013

• February 1929: The state of Transjordan, created in 1921 under British protection in the aftermath of the Ottoman Empire’s collapse, holds its first elections for a mostly powerless legislative council.

• May 1946: The Kingdom of Transjordan is proclaimed after Britain grants the country limited independence. Elections a year later choose the kingdom’s first parliament, but no opposition parties can run.

• December 1948: Transjordan annexes the West Bank and becomes the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country now has an ethnic Palestinian majority. Elections choose a body evenly divided between Jordan and the Palestinian territories.

• October 1956: With anti-colonialism on the rise throughout the Arab world, leftists take about half the seats in elections considered among Jordan’s freest ever. But in April 1957, Jordan’s Western-allied King Hussein suspends parliament for four years after an attempted leftist coup.

• June 1967: Jordan loses the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. There are no elections for 20 years due to the impossibility of holding a vote there. Martial law is declared.

• November 1974: Women gain the right to vote.

• July 31, 1988: Hussein renounces claims to the West Bank, paving the way for new elections and reforms.

• Nov. 8, 1989: Elections are held. Each voter can cast one ballot for an individual candidate and another for an electoral list. Islamists form the largest bloc in parliament.

• July 7, 1991: The king abolishes most provisions of martial law. In 1992, parties are allowed, and in 1993 press restrictions are lifted.

• November, 1993: New elections are held in which each voter has one vote. This angers the Brothers who say that the system favors local politicians with tribal ties rather than ideologically based lists. They win only a handful of seats and boycott the next elections.

• February 1999: King Hussein dies and his son ascends to the throne as Abdullah II. He promises to press ahead with reforms. Elections are held in 2003, 2007 and 2010, the last one boycotted again by the Islamists.

• Dec. 17, 2010: The Tunisian revolution breaks out, touching off the Arab Spring uprisings. Jordan sees protests, albeit peaceful and smaller than in other Arab countries. Mostly they call for more political openness rather than the abolition of the monarchy. King Abdullah vows to accelerate reforms.

• February 2011: The government removes restrictions on public gatherings. Parliament later authorizes Jordan’s first constitutional court.

• January 2012: Street protests continue. Parliament amends the constitution to reduce the powers of the king in favor of the legislature. Abdullah also relinquishes his constitutional right to appoint prime ministers, allowing parliament to pick them.

• June 2012: Jordan enacts an electoral law. It is condemned by the main Islamist bloc, which again boycotts.

• October 2012: King Abdullah dismisses parliament half-way through its four-year term. The commission sets new elections for Jan. 23,2013.