IRI Encourages Voter Participation Through Education

October 1, 2003

Recognizing that Jordan's future rests not only on the Kingdom's economic health, but also on the effectiveness of its elected institutions, IRI is sponsoring programs to educate voters about the importance of representative government and civic participation. As Jordan prepared for the Hashemite Kingdom's June parliamentary elections, IRI partnered with the Princess Basma Youth Resource Center (PBYRC) to build upon work done in 2002 encouraging greater voter participation by young people and women.

In the period leading up to the June elections, PBYRC broadcast IRI-supported television documentaries that were timed to correspond with pre-election candidate forums and voter education programs in the country's three geographic regions. Community workshops and the voter education programs entitled "Roadmap to Democracy" used former parliamentarians as speakers to reach out to target audiences nation-wide.

The parliamentary elections demonstrated trends observed by PBYRC in IRI-supported focus groups conducted in 2002. Among the primary findings identified by the focus groups was that young people by-and-large were uninterested in Jordan's political life and that greater involvement by young people in politics would likely improve the chances of women seeking elected office. Regarding interest in Jordan's democratic reforms, 2003 electoral patterns demonstrated that nearly 80% of Jordanians in the rural areas exercised their right to vote, while less than 50% of those in urban areas voted. Rural women additionally showed greater interest in running for elected office, and IRI is responding by supporting civic education programs in rural areas in Jordan's north and south.

IRI voter education activities carried over into July with a focus on Jordan's July municipal elections. Again working with PBYRC, IRI supported a series of regional workshops that this time targeted entire families in rural areas. The approach is intended to take into account the strong role heads of households have on setting the tone for democratic behaviors and attitudes about civic participation.

The IRI-supported workshops will coincide with a campaign to distribute printed materials, including posters and flyers, on the four primary means of civic participation: Vote, Participate, Advocate, and Candidate.

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