Jordan is a constitutional monarchy, with its King holding most of the political power. The parliament is elected by the people, but proper campaigning and composition of political parties has been difficult for opposition parties due to the country’s electoral laws. In addition, the judicial system in Jordan is not independent and does not align with international standards. Since several reforms, elections became fairer and more free, as seen in the 2016 parliamentary elections. The candidates in the election stood mostly as independents, though the new election law made it also possible to run via party lists. Little has changed with regards to this in the 2020 parliamentary elections though. The loyalties of candidates often lie with tribal or family allegiances, instead with political parties. Officially many candidates continue to run as independents.
Just like after the 2016 elections, most of the candidates in the 130-seated parliament elected in 2020 are loyal to the government. The main opposition alliance, the Islamic Action Front based National Coalition for Reform, gained 10 seats. Similarly to earlier elections, the Islamic Action Front formed a broad coalition including Christians and Circassians. It has yet proven unsuccessful, as opposition forces have consistently declined in strength. In comparison with the 2016 elections, voter turnout decreased as well, lowering from 36.1% to 29.9%. Many Jordanians are fed up with the ongoing economic crisis, high unemployment, poverty and lack of political reform. The election also took place amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, which might have also contributed to the lowest voter turnout in a decade.
Foreign relations of the country are pro-Western, perceivable through the country’s historically close relations with the US and the UK. It is part of the Arab League and has signed several peace agreements, as, for example, the Washington Declaration, a non-aggression pact with Israel. Other challenges for the country include the rising presence of refugees from neighbouring Syria and regional instability. The COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s lockdowns measures have led to an economic crisis. It has been the worst year for Jordan’s economy in decades. With a recent Cabinet reshuffle and negotiated four-year deal with the IMF, the government hopes to get the country back on its feet.
Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with a legal system mixed of Islamic law, codes instituted by the Ottoman Empire (which are based on French law) and British common law. The constitution was first proclaimed on 8 January 1952 and has since been amended several times to meet the Kingdom’s changing needs. The government consists of the Chief of State (the King), the executive Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, and the legislative National Assembly with two chambers: the House of Deputies and the Senate.
Since Hussein bin Talal became King of Jordan in 1952, democratic institutions were introduced. After his death in 1999, Hussein’s oldest son, Abdullah, succeeded him. In his position as Chief of State, Abdullah II has followed a policy of continuing his father’s paternalistic style of rule from a moderate, pro-Western political viewpoint, claiming to gradually evolve the political landscape in Jordan from an autocratic state into a democracy with political pluralism. However, this notion is fiercely contested by the opposition, which regards the King’s policies as anti-democratic and speaks of a deteriorating political situation. The extensive history of clans and tribes that traditionally comprise the majority in the parliament and the lack of freedom of the press are among the main challenges that hinder democratic reform in Jordan. At the same time, people protest against rising prices, corruption, and unemployment, inspired by revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, calling for the genuine constitutional reform, challenging the Hashemite Monarchy’s order. Additionally, protesters have been demanding full rights for women and calling for gender equality.
The King
The King is the main power in Jordan and the monarch’s function is hereditary. The monarch has the power to appoint the Prime Minister as well as the Senate and to dissolve the House of Deputies at any time. Furthermore, the King is not obliged to appoint a Prime Minister or form a government from either the majority party or the parliament and currently prefers to rely on his own loyal supporters instead. Besides, the King signs and executes all laws. He appoints judges and may dismiss them by decree, as well as he may approve amendments to the constitution, declare war, and command the armed forces. His veto power can only be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the National Assembly. In practice this is most unlikely to occur, as most MPs are independents loyal to the King and his government.
There has been sharp criticism levelled at Abdullah II that he and his Jordanian regime restrict freedom of speech due to his amendment to the Jordanian Penal Code, to ensure the legislation of the punishment of all those who express dissent. Human rights organizations have criticized the King and his regime for several human rights violations and acts of torture committed against Islamic radicals and those who express dissent and criticism over his policies. The 2011 people’s unrest characterised by relatively peaceful demonstrations have challenged the power of the throne by calling, in particular, on the king to relinquish his power to appoint prime ministers and to provide the parliament with more functions.
The Prime Minister
The current incumbent prime minister is Bisher Al-Khasawhneh. He was put forward by the King on the 22th of October and tasked to oversee the 2020 elections on November 10. On November 12 he assumed office and was expected to lead the government. The Prime Minister (PM) is appointed by the King and does not serve a fixed term. After the King’s mandate, the Prime Minister has the highest executive role. The Prime Minister has one or two Deputy Prime Ministers under his lead and forms the Cabinet in consultation with the monarch. As Jordan lacks organized political parties which enjoy parliamentary majorities or form coalition governments, the monarch usually picks up MPs with distinguished records in public life to form the cabinet.
Over the last decade, the king has changed the government many times. Samir Rifai was appointed as Prime Minister on 2 December 2009. In January 2011, following large popular street protests organized by Islamic and leftist groups and inspired by similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt, Samir Rifai resigned. The protesters accused PM Rifai of being insensitive to their economic hardships. Rifai was replaced by Marouf Bakhit, a former Prime Minister, who was also a prominent figure in the peace process between Israel and Jordan, which led to the 1994 peace treaty. However, his government failed to tackle a number of important domestic policy areas.
The Senate
The Upper House or Senate (Majlis al-Ayan) forms one half of the national legislature, the other being the House of Deputies. The Senate consists of 65 seats and members are appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures and long-serving politicians. The required age for membership is 40 years and none of its current members is associated with any party.
The Senate advises the House of Deputies on general policies and together the two chambers can curb the King’s powers. It is, in general, a respected institute, with a large influence in the public domain. Membership term in the Senate is four years, renewable by the King. The current president of the Senate is former prime minister Faisal al-Fayez. He was appointed on 25 October of 2015.
The House of Deputies
The House of Deputies (the House of Representatives) is the only political organ that is directly elected by Jordanian citizens through universal adult suffrage, which is not guaranteed by the constitutions and restricts citizens who are disabled or bankrupt from voting. It is elected for a four years term unless the monarch dissolves it earlier. From a total of 130 seats, 9 for Christians candidates, and 3 for Jordanians of Chechen or Circassian descent, according to the enacted Electoral Law of 2016. Furthermore, 15 seats are set for female representatives.
The parliament has the right to approve, reject or amend legislation proposed by the cabinet. However, it is limited in its ability to initiate legislation and it cannot enact laws without the assent of the Senate. Most of the representatives in the House of Deputies are not affiliated to a political party. This is a result of the clan history of the country, combined with the long period in which political parties were illegal. The current speaker of the House of Deputies is independent politician Atef Tarawneh.
2022 consitutional amendments
In January 2022, a new set of constitutional amendments quickly passed through the Jordanian upper and lower house. It increases concerns on the future of the Jordanian democracy, as power is increasingly centered in the hands of the monarchy. King Abdullah said that he wants to become a ‘constitutional monarch’ and that he wants Jordan to be a parliamentary democracy in ten years. However, the recent amendments seem to point in the opposing direction.
Among the changes is the formation of a new governmental body, the National Security Council. It contains the prime, foreign and interior ministers, the heads of the King’s security apparatus and others, appointed by the king. It holds wide-ranging powers and is described as ‘a fourth branch of government’ which can bypass the Council of Ministers or parliament.
Even more controversial is that King Abdullah receives the power to bypass the Council of Ministers in the appointment of powerful political appointments, such as the Chief Justice or Grand Mufti. King Abdullah already has an extensive set of powers in the Jordanian political landscape. These amendments clearly are a setback in creating a system of checks and balances, a feature needed for a well-functioning Jordanian democracy.
On the other hand, the constitution now gives more support for people prosecuted for party membership. It is a long-standing desire in Jordan that political parties gain the possibility to form a majority government, with the goal of re-invigorating political trust and legitimacy.
Electoral laws
After 22 years, in 1989 the first elections were held in Jordan under King Hussein’s rule. The official ban on political parties from 1957 remained, but candidates ranged ideologically from the extreme left to the extreme right. Most of these independent candidates formed loosely organized blocs. Analysts state that these blocs were predominantly organised along with tribal and family ties, instead of along political or ideological affiliations.
2016 election law
During the run-up towards the 2016 parliamentary elections, yet another new Election Law was introduced. A controversial one-person-one-vote system was replaced with a list-based system designed to encourage political parties. Another new aspect in the law is that registration for the elections is not optional. Therefore, the number of eligible voters rose from 2,288,043 in the 2013 elections to 4,130,142 in 2016 (policy of active voter registration instead of passive voter registration).
In addition, the introduction of the Election Law saw a reduction in the number of seats in the Lower House from 150 to 130, while the women’s quota remained at 15. The Christian minority has 9 state-set seats, while there are 3 seats reserved for the Circassian and Chechen communities. It is widely believed that the King only introduced the quotas to show the world how much progress Jordan was making. The 2016 Election Law has been criticized for leaving a voting system intact that favours sparsely populated tribal East Bank constituencies over the densely populated cities mostly inhabited by Jordanians of Palestinian descent, which are Islamic strongholds and highly politicized. More than two-thirds of Jordan’s seven million people live in cities but are allocated less than a third of assembly seats.
2022 local elections
On March 22, 2022, Jordanians went to the polls in local elections to elect new municipal councils. Apathy and cynicism dominated these elections, as only 29.8 percent of Jordanians showed up to vote. The turn-out is two percent lower than in 2017. In Amman, turnout was lowest: 14.75%.
Organized parties were largely absent from these elections – especially the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of Muslim Brotherhood, boycotted the election. Of 4,646 nominated candidates, only seventy-four belonged to registered parties – demonstrating the large majority of tribal-affiliated nominees. Sixty out of seventy-four party-affiliated nominees were elected, all other elected representatives were running independent on a tribal platform. Generally, women did well in the elections. Sixty-eight women were elected beyond Jordan’s quota of 25 percent. It means that 27% of all council members are now female.
Parliamentary elections
On 12 November 2020, the most recent parliamentary elections were held in Jordan. The candidates stood mostly as independents, their loyalties rooted not in political parties but tribal and family allegiances. No seats were won by left-wing parties (social democrats, communists, nationalists), and not a single female candidate was able to secure a seat by gaining enough votes (only the requisite 15 women were elected). The parliament will remain in the hands of tribal factions, all loyal to the government.
Across the country, banners of around 1,700 candidates appealed to voters along mostly tribal and family loyalty lines. There were 360 female candidates. 393 candidates were affiliated to political parties. The government maintained the electoral system that under-represents densely-populated cities that are Islamist and Palestinian strongholds. Results showed the main opposition party, the Islamic Action Front based National Coalition for Reform, gained 10 seats. IAF forged electoral alliances with Christian, ethnic minority or tribal candidates in some areas to maintain two thirds of its 15 seats. A hundred newcomers joined the new parliament, including approximately 20 retired senior military officers.
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