page_title: Elections in Jordan
section_title: Return to proportional vote
hierarchical_section_title: Elections in Jordan / History / Return to proportional vote
caption_attribution_description: English: Based upon the File:Jordan governorates named.svg file
context_page_description: Elections in Jordan are for the lower house, known as the House of Representatives, of the bicameral parliament of Jordan, as well as for local elections. They take place within a political system where the King has extensive legislative and executive powers, retaining ultimate political control. The Prime Minister is selected by the King, the PM is then free to choose his own Cabinet. The parliament has quotas: three seats for Circassians and Chechens, nine for Christians and fifteen for women. The electoral system favours rural tribes and those of East Bank origin over urban areas that are primarily inhabited by those of Palestinian descent.
  The first general election was held during the Emirate of Transjordan in 1929. Even after Jordan gained independence in 1946, British influence caused elections to be held under block voting. Just three months into an elected government experiment in 1956, the former King Hussein then dismissed that government, declaring martial law and banning political parties. This lasted until general elections were reintroduced in 1989 after unrest over price hikes spread in southern Jordan.
context_section_description: More reforms were touted in 2015, with the government promising the end of one-man one-vote. Furthermore, the government expressed that all licensed parties were part of Jordan's political fabric, explicitly mentioning the IAF. The final reforms were proposed on 31 August, and were seen as very similar to the popularly remembered 1989 elections. The new system reduced the seats to 130 while keeping all quotas at the same numbers. It fully eliminated one-man one-vote, restoring the block system whereby voters had votes equal to the number of seats in their district. In addition, they each also have a single vote for a multi-member party list. This was not the case in the 1989 elections, and reflected the PR experiment from the 2013 elections. Re-elections will be held in the case of ties.
  All candidates will run as members of lists, with open list PR used to determine all seats falling outside of quotas. For the Circassian/Chechen and Christian seats, the seat is given to the highest candidate from within those groups. The female quota seats however are assigned to women who would not otherwise be elected. There are 23 electoral districts: five in the Amman government, four in the Irbid governorate, two in the Zarqa governorate, one each for the other nine governorates, and three badia districts for the Bedouin quotas. The Circassian/Chechen and Christian quotas were included among seats assigned within the governorate districts.  The female quota is divided so that there is one seat in each governorate, and one in each badia. While the division of population between districts remains imperfect, it was an improvement upon previous elections.
  After minor changes in both houses, the new law was approved by the King on 13 March 2016. Both government and opposition groups hailed the changes as progressive. This included the IAF, which hailed the changed as positive. Democracy advocates were pleased that the changes made the law very similar to the 1989 law, which had long been held in high regard. The election is set for 20 September 2016, and will again be run by the IEC, who are providing for the first time provisions for deaf and blind voters.
  There was some controversy over the reforms. Tribal leaders opposed them as they reduced their influence, and there was fear of increased influence in Palestinians through the IAF through the increasing through still unequal representation of urban areas. In 2015 internal divisions erupted within the Muslim Brotherhood, tacitly encouraged by the government. One splinter group, known as the Muslim Brotherhood Association, took advantage of the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood was affiliated with its Egyptian founding group rather than being registered as a Jordanian organisation, registering as the official Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan. The Muslim Brotherhood Association, which emphasises its Jordanian identity, was given official status in March 2015. Subsequent internal dissent among the original Muslim Brotherhood led to the resignation of hundreds of members. Two other splinter groups have also broken away from the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood Association leveraged its official status to launch lawsuits claiming ownership of Muslim Brotherhood property, and in April 2016 the lawsuits were decided in the favour of the Association, leading them to seizing control of a wide swathe of Muslim Brotherhood property. The government also prevented a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Muslim Brotherhood.
  The IAF, despite being the political wing of the original and now-illegal Muslim Brotherhood, is registered as a Jordanian organisation and remains legal. Despite the fractures in the Muslim Brotherhood the IAF decided to end its boycott and compete in the 2016 elections after overwhelming support to do so in an internal vote, with 76% of members supporting participating in the election. 17% of members still opposed participation without substantial limitations to the King's constitutional powers. The government wants the IAF to participate to enhance t
caption: Aside from the Bedouin badia districts, the districts for the 2016 election cover either one governorate or part of a governorate.
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