2013
Jordan Parliamentary Elections
20
profusion of lists and diluted the field for voters who were unfamiliar with this innovation. A result
was that lists in effect became another vehicle for the tribal votes to influence politics. The decision
to make lists closed led to controversies arising over candidate placement on respective lists, leading
to speculation that financial backers usually carried the day in such disputes.
The government’s attempt to present the law as a step forward in a gradual process toward greater
political reform clashed with the view that the law repeated the same mistakes of the previous law.
By failing to include various political and social groups in the drafting process, limiting voters to one
vote at the district level, retaining unequal districting and neglecting the development of political
parties through a more robust proportional element, the modified system has failed to produce any
substantive change
Finally, any discussion of the election law must be placed in the context of the mandate of the
parliament itself. The Jordanian parliament has proved to be an ineffectual institution that has
neither the autonomy nor the authority needed to advance legislative measures or effectively hold
the government accountable.
Electoral Administration Bodies
Following a constitutional amendment in 2011, the IEC was established in April 2012, by a special
law that, along with the new election law, constitutes Jordan’s reformed electoral framework.
Despite the challenges, the establishment of the IEC increased public confidence in the election
process and was an important step to reduce election fraud.
The creation of such an independent
body was deemed necessary after irregularities in previous elections, which were run by a committee
under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior, seriously damaged public trust in the integrity of
Jordan’s political system. The same reform should be made to the municipal election framework to
transfer authority from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs to the IEC, as previous municipal elections
suffered from the same public mistrust in results.
Mandated to perform its tasks in a manner of integrity, transparency and impartiality
the IEC was
able to establish a more independent election administration apparatus in spite of having to rely
heavily on the Ministry of Interior’s support. Administration of the elections consisted of three tiers
– the IEC, district election commissions (DEC) and polling stations. There were 45 DECs, one in
each district, and 4,069 polling stations nation-wide. The IEC successfully trained approximately
32,000 polling staff in the pre-election period and was responsible for the largely effective
administration of voter registration, which was implemented by the Civil Status and Passport
Department (CSDP), as well as candidate registration and Election Day. In addition, the IEC had
the responsibility of ensuring coordination with other legal bodies concerning the investigation and
prosecution of alleged violations during the campaign period. IRI observers concluded that all levels
of the election administration were professional in the way they carried out their duties. IRI’s long-
16
The Jordan Times
. “Election law amendments death blow to Jordan’s reform drive” 11 July 2012.
>.
17
International Republican Institute Poll.
Jordan Post-Election Public Opinion Survey
. 4-7 March 2013. p. 10.
%
2C%20March%204-7%2C%202013.pdf>.
18
Articles four and 12, Jordanian Election Law, 2012.
