News

Poor turnout in Jordan elections reflects limits of Kingdom's democracy

Nov 10 2020
Jordan
Source: 
U.S. NEWS

Jordan ended voting on Tuesday in elections that were set to keep parliament in the hands of tribal and pro-government factions and have been criticised by the Islamist and liberal opposition for failing to reflect their true level of support.

Officials said turnout among the 4.64 million eligible to vote was 29.88%, the lowest participation rate in many years. The poll coincides with deep public discontent as Jordan grapples with an economic crisis, and unemployment and poverty aggravated by a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Special committees to audit final election results

Nov 07 2020
Jordan
Source: 
Jordan News Agency

The Independent Election Commission will for the first time form special committees to calculate and audit the final results of the parliamentary elections in the three regions of the Kingdom.

Commission spokesman Jihad Momani told Petra in an interview that the committees' formation aims to tabulate and audit the votes in their final form in the constituencies in the three regions, and not to leave it to the Amman central committee to do so, with the aim of speeding up the announcement of results.

IEC keeps tabs on parliamentary candidates, detects 700 violations

Nov 05 2020
Jordan
Source: 
Jordan Times

Total number of registered candidates now stands at 1,674, including 360 women. 

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Wednesday said it had found over 700 violations committed by parliamentary candidates. Jordanians will head to polling stations on November 10 to elect members of the 19th Parliament. "Since the announcement of the elections, the IEC has dealt with 710 violations, including 100 incidents related to financial irregularities, or what is termed as 'black money'," IEC Spokesperson Jihad Momani told The Jordan Times.

Parliamentary Elections in Jordan: A Competition of Mixed Messages

Apr 29 2020
Jordan
Source: 
Disorient

In the midst of continuous regional turmoil, Jordanians will be heading to the polling stations on 20 September to cast their votes for the 18th national Parliament. Anja Wehler-Schoeck, Resident Director of the Amman Office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, outlines Jordan's political setting in the run-up to the elections and gives a prognosis to tomorrow's electional and the long-term political outcome.

Jordan’s king approves third cabinet reshuffle in 1 year

May 09 2019
Jordan
Source: 
Daily Nigerian

Jordan’s King Abdullah approved a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, the third in Prime Minister Omar Razzaz’s government since he took office in 2018.

The reshuffle introduced six new ministers, including Nidal al-Bataineh, who was appointed as minister of labour, and Saad Fayez Jaber, who was made minister of health.

Salama Hammad was appointed as minister of the interior, replacing Sameer al-Mobaideen.

Hammad has held the position of interior minister twice before, in 1993 and 2016.

Women rights movement hails unprecedented number of women in government

Jun 15 2018
Jordan
Source: 
The Jordan Times

AMMAN — The Jordanian National Commision for Women (JNCW) on Thursday commended the government for the inclusion of women in the new ministerial team headed by Prime Minister-designate Omar Razzaz, pointing out that “the new government has set a new record in the number of female ministers in the history of Jordan".

Razzaz's team, sworn in on Thursday, includes seven women in the 29-strong Cabinet.

Razzaz’s government sworn in before King

Jun 15 2018
Jordan
Source: 
The Jordan Times

AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz and his Cabinet were sworn in on Thursday before His Majesty King Abdullah, who issued a Royal Decree ordering the formation of the Cabinet after the resignation of the government of Hani Mulki, the Royal Court said in a statement.

Besides Razzaz, the Cabinet consists of 28 ministers including 7 women for the first time in the history of the Kingdom.

It includes 11 first-time ministers and 17 who have served in previous governments.

New social contract key item on gov’t agenda — Razzaz

Jun 12 2018
Jordan
Source: 
The Jordan Times

AMMAN (JT) — Prime Minister-designate Omar Razzaz said on Monday that the King’s directive in the Letter of Designation to forge a new social contract could be the most important item on the political agenda that his in-the-making government is entrusted to implement.

Razzaz made his remarks during a meeting at Al Hussein Youth City with the secretaries general of political parties, as part of a series of meetings and consultations he is holding to form a government and its action plan for the next stage, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan’s Local Elections See Low Turnout

Aug 29 2017
Jordan
Source: 
al-monitor

The preliminary results of Jordan’s local elections, which were held on Aug. 27, showed that tribal candidates and businessmen who are loyal to the government took the majority of seats in the local councils of the 12 provinces. The elections were held amid a boycott by the Islamist opposition, and low participation among leftist and nationalist parties that lost in the elections.

New Lower House includes 74 new faces

Sep 24 2016
Jordan
Source: 
Jordan Times

AMMAN — Last week’s elections of the 18th Lower House brought 74 first-time MPs and 56 former lawmakers to the Dome, according to information reviewed by The Jordan Times. 

Among the former legislators, 39 kept their seats from the 17th Parliament and 17 had held seats in previous legislatures. 

The elections, held on September 20, saw the return of two former speakers of the House — Atef Tarawneh and Abdul Karim Dughmi — while four former ministers were elected as MPs. They are Dughmi, Abdullah Akaileh, Mohammad Nouh Qudah and Mazen Qadi. 

Preliminary election results announced, legislature makeup takes shape

Sep 23 2016
Jordan
Source: 
Jordan Times

AMMAN – The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Thursday announced the preliminary results of five districts, two of which had three women winning outside the quota.

Meanwhile, the IEC announced that no re-vote would be held in the Central Badia District, where sabotage of ballots was reported.

At a press conference, Mustafa Barari, head of the commission's special committee entrusted with auditing the elections' results, announced the initial outcomes of Karak, Balqa and Irbid's 1st and 4th districts as well as the Central Badia.

IAF, allies win 15 seats at 18th Parliament — leader

Sep 23 2016
Jordan
Source: 
Jordan Times

AMMAN —  The National Coalition for Reform led by the Islamic Action Front (IAF) has won 15 seats in the 130-member Lower House, according to the preliminary results of the September 20 elections.

Ali Abu Sukkar, the coalition’s spokesperson, said of these 15 seats, 10 were won by members of the IAF, the political wing of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. 

Women’s rights groups hesitant to celebrate election results

Sep 22 2016
Jordan
Source: 
Jordan Times

AMMAN — Activists on Thursday expressed mixed reactions to the parliamentary election results, as five women won seats outside the 15-seat quota, including three Islamists. 

The head of the Women’s Committee at the Senate, Senator Mai Abul Samen, said the results were a clear indication that people “truly believe in women’s role and were convinced by their performance... that is why we have a good number of women who won through direct competition”.

Int’l observers say elections ‘efficient’, with isolated problems

Sep 21 2016
Jordan
Source: 
Jordan Times

AMMAN — The Lower House elections were efficiently organised and took place in a largely peaceful atmosphere, but some shortcomings were observed, international monitors said on Wednesday. 

The International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute sent a mission of 45 observers from 26 countries to monitor polling stations on Tuesday, co-led by former Kosovo president Atifete Jahjaga.  

“While there were isolated problems, most voters were able to exercise their rights,” Jahjaga said at a press conference.

Less than 40% of Jordanians plan to vote on Tuesday — poll

Sep 17 2016
Jordan
Source: 
Jordan Times

AMMAN — Only 38 per cent of Jordanians plan to vote in the parliamentary elections on Tuesday, according to an opinion poll released on Saturday.

The poll, conducted by the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS), found that 39 per cent of Jordanians surveyed said that they would not vote, while 11 per cent said they might.  

The poll, which surveyed 1,812 members of the public of voting age, as well as 700 opinion leaders, was conducted 100 days after the formation of Hani Mulki’s government. 

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