Posters as far as the eye can see

Anyone walking the streets of Jordan, especially its capital Amman, cannot fail to notice that the country is in the midst of an election. There are election posters on every street corner, at every intersection, and hanging from every bridge. Printed on cardboard, men in suits and ties smile at passers-by. A woman with long brown hair and an older man with a red kufiya look just as friendly, another candidate poses with veil over her face.

The posters, depicting the around 1,600 independent and party-affiliated candidates, are at the centre of the discussion on social media ahead of the parliamentary elections on Tuesday . “The streets of Amman at their ugliest,” writes one user on X. So many people have complained about the sea of posters that the issue has also been taken up by local media. It is telling that the debate is centred on street aesthetics and road safety rather than political content. 

In 2021, Jordanian King Abdullah II announced the modernisation of the political system. A new party system was to emerge, a departure from the nepotism and tribal loyalty that had dominated previous parliamentary elections in favour of democratic, party-based forces. One year later, several legislative changes came into force, including a new law on political parties. 

The reform introduces national political parties which would present candidates to run alongside the usual range of largely independent candidates. Registered parties must have at least one thousand members, with quotas of 20% each for women and under-35-year-olds. 41 out of 138 parliamentary seats are reserved for the parties, and the rest are held by directly elected independents. Another much-discussed aspect of the reform is the stipulation that no one may be legally prosecuted for their party membership.

The reform was prompted by the low voter turnout in 2020, the lowest since the 1990s, when just under 30% of citizens voted. In the past, election campaigns were mainly shaped by family connections and parties carried little weight. In 2020, party representatives won only seventeen seats, most of which went to Islamic parties. All other seats went to independent candidates. 

Does the reform strengthen the king?

The head of the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Jordan, Edmund Ratka, sees the reform in a positive light: “It is already a step forward, at least on paper,” he told Qantara. The law has taken the parties “out of the shadows” and brought more women into the party leadership. Those among the younger generation who are generally interested in politics are becoming more engaged, Ratka observes.    

Ahmed al-Khawaldeh, a 26-year-old civil engineer who has been politically active since his university days, takes a similar view. He is currently volunteering for a candidate from the Al-Watan party in Mafraq in northern Jordan. “I can definitely see a higher level of participation from young politicians since the law was passed,” he says, “which makes me happy.” 

However, Ratka believes there are problems with the implementation of the reform. “The state now wants political parties, but it’s maintaining its grip on them,” he says. Parties that are critical of the government have repeatedly complained that members are being harassed. The human rights organisation Dawn protested against the suspension of 19 parties and the arrest and intimidation of several party members back in June. The Jordanian government did not respond to an enquiry by Qantara on the subject but has repeatedly pointed to the large number of authorised parties in response to criticism. 

The reform faced criticism soon after it passed in 2022. Instead of expanding the role of the parties, critics said it would strengthen the power of the king who already appoints the heads of the government and the army, all members of the Senate, and other high-ranking officials. The Jordanian parliament has the power to amend or reject draft laws, and its members can submit legislative proposals, but parties only have 30% of the seats in the lower house and all laws must be ratified by the king, who also appoints the head of government. As a result, the power of parties and parliament remains seriously limited.

Gaza war could give Islamic parties a boost

Privately, some commentators see the state’s lasting grip on power as a form of protection from a takeover by Islamists. So far, the only strong parties to emerge have been the Islamic groups, primarily the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan. The war in Gaza could play into the Islamists’ hands in this election. Some experts are already predicting victory for the IAF, which has always been strongly critical of Israel and has led several demonstrations since the start of the war. 

The IAF does not recognise the 1994 peace treaty between Jordan and Israel and calls for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea” and “support for the resistance”. Several other parties, secular as well as Islamic, have followed suit by showing solidarity with Palestinians and calling for a ceasefire and the foundation of a Palestinian state.  

However, even if Islamists were to win the elections, a complete transformation of Jordan's society and foreign policy would be extremely unlikely. The IAF, for example, vehemently denies any desire to fundamentally reshape the system or the country. “The Muslim Brotherhood is rooted in Jordanian tradition and respect for Jordanian law,” IAF spokesperson Dima Tahboub tells Qantara.   

“Jordan will be no different on the day after the election than it is today,” Ratka agrees. This is due to the limited room for manoeuvre available to political forces. Jordan is a fenced-in experiment in democracy. “I call it the Jordanian paradox: participation and control,” says Ratka.   

“I have no trust in the system”

Politicians had high expectations that reform could alter the sceptical attitudes of Jordanian voters. But so far, enthusiasm remains limited. According to a survey by Nama Strategic Intelligence Solutions, under 35% of the 5.1 million registered voters intend to cast their ballots on Tuesday – just five percentage points more than in the last parliamentary elections. The survey predicts that up to four-fifths could vote for one of the 38 registered parties. However, a 2.5% hurdle will make it very difficult for smaller parties to gain seats in parliament.   

In the survey, those who do not want to vote for a party frequently stated that parties are inefficient, do not keep their word, or are not convincing or informative enough. “I'm not interested in the elections,” says a 19-year-old woman in a black headscarf who works in a café in Amman and wanted to remain anonymous. “I'm still young and don't have enough information,” she adds. “Maybe that will change when I start my economics degree soon.” She finds the many election posters unhelpful. 

In contrast, her 23-year-old sister, who is studying English and Spanish, is ambivalent. “I have no faith in the system and have never voted before. I do know that it's important to vote. Otherwise, someone else will win. But I'm not convinced by the election programmes you see now. The system is broken,” she says. She highlights the need for more honesty and freedom. 

Apart from a few cases of corruption and the uproar over election posters, foreign policy issues such as the war on Gaza have dominated the debate in Jordan. Domestic issues have taken the backseat. It's clear that many parties still need to grow into their new political roles. The focus on candidate portraits in the election campaign also appears to be a remnant of the personality-centered past, as Ratka says: “we are in the early stages of a new system, but we still have one foot in the old one.” The extent to which Jordanians do embrace the new system will be revealed in Tuesday's election. 

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