2020 Jordanian general election

General elections were held in Jordan on 10 November 2020 to elect the members of the nineteenth House of Representatives.[1][2] Voter turnout was just 29.88%, the lowest in a decade.[3]

2020 Jordanian general election
10 November 2020 (2020-11-10)
130 seats in the House of Representatives
Turnout29.88%
Jordan
This article is part of a series on the
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Jordan

Member State of the Arab League

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(18th Parliament)
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  • Judiciary of Jordan
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    President: Taher Hikmat
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    President: Mohammad Ghazo
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Related topics
 Jordan portal

The elections took place as the country was experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. As a result there were numerous calls on social media channels to boycott the elections, particularly as no alternatives to in-person voting were offered.[4][5] The country went into a four-day total lockdown following elections, starting at 23:00 on election day, an hour later than the originally-stated 22:00.[6][7]

Electoral system

The 130 seats in the House of Representatives consist of 115 members elected by open list proportional representation from 23 constituencies of between three and nine seats in size and 15 seats reserved for women.[8] Nine of the 115 proportional representation seats are reserved for the Christian minority, with another three reserved for the Chechen and Circassian minorities.[8]

The 15 seats for women are awarded to the woman who received the most votes (but fail to be elected on their list) in each of the twelve governorates and the three Badia districts.[9]

Contesting parties

A total of 294 party lists with 1,703 candidates contested the elections,[10] including the Islamic Action Front, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood,[11] and the "Progressive" list, a coalition of socialist and nationalist parties including the Arab Ba'ath Progressive Party, Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, Jordanian Communist Party, Jordanian Democratic People's Party and the Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party.

Conduct

Polls opened at 07:00, and were supposed to close at 19:00. However the closing was extended by two hours, with the voting window totalling 14 hours.[12] The Independent Elections Commission has denied that the time extension was due to low turnout.[13]

References
  1. Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: Election for Majlis al-Nuwaab (Jordanian House of Deputies) IFES
  2. "Jordan's elections explained in 500 words". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. "نسبة الاقتراع النهائية 29.9% بعد إغلاق الصناديق في الانتخابات النيابية". قناة المملكة (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  4. "Jordan's elections explained in 500 words". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  5. "Jordan votes amidst strict COVID-19 measures". Middle East Monitor. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. "Jordan holds parliamentary elections amid virus surge". AP News. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  7. "بدء 4 أيام من حظر التجول الشامل". قناة المملكة (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  8. Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: Election for Majlis al-Nuwaab (Jordanian House of Deputies) 2016 IFES
  9. Electoral System IPU
  10. ""المستقلة": 294 قائمة و1703 مرشحين للانتخابات والأسماء تنشر الليلة". Alghad (in Arabic). 16 October 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  11. "Jordan faces virus-era polls in crisis mode". France24. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  12. "إقبال ضعيف على التصويت.. إغلاق صناديق الاقتراع بالانتخابات البرلمانية في الأردن". Al Jazeera (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  13. ""المستقلة للانتخاب": تمديد فترة التصويت مرتبط بكثافة الاقتراع". قناة المملكة (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 November 2020.
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