Parties say surprise MOPPA draft, slashed funding 'offensive' as negotiations ongoing

AMMAN — A new funding plan for political parties was listed as one of the government’s 2018-2019 priorities, while talks between the entities involved in drafting the plan have not led to a consensus so far.

The demands of 23 political parties are “not in sync” with the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs’ (MOPPA) proposal, Secretary General of the Al Hayat Party Abdul Fatah Kilani told The Jordan Times.

“We [the 23 political parties] were finalising our version of the draft on Sunday, when suddenly, we received the MOPPA’s draft. The draft’s content is not the problem, but the timing too. Sending us their version a day before we were set to send ours is offensive,” he said.

“It implies that our demands will not be considered,” he added.

However, MOPPA Spokesperson Sami Mahasneh described the move as “a mere reminder of the things the MOPPA repeatedly asked the parties to pay attention to”.

For instance, political parties in Jordan lack a significant number of women and youth members, he said. 

“These parties should be reflective and representative of Jordanian society as a whole. Having old men run the whole show is neither inclusive nor diverse,” he underlined.

Both the government and the parties agree on these provisions, Kilani noted.

Speaking on behalf of the parties he represents, mostly centre-left and centre-right, Kilani stated that these terms stand “unopposed”.

“We understand that our leaders have mostly been senior citizens; senior men too, and we are planning to change that,” he further explained.

According to a copy of the ministry’s draft sent to The Jordan Times, the MOPPA’s plan entailed incentives for women and youth electoral participants, including a 10 per cent increase in funding for every woman candidate, and a 20 per cent increase for every woman or youth candidate who wins their election.

But the parties’ issues with the draft, according to Kilani, have nothing to do with what Mahasneh told The Jordan Times. 

Kilani argued that the parties take issue with the overall amount of funding in the draft and it’s “ambiguity” on a variety of other points of interest.

He described the MOPPA’s budget plan as too generic.

“Aside from an overall funding budget, the plan entails merely general directives with no specifics on budgetary items as to the purposes of the funding provisions,” he explained.

Parties need funding for office rentals and campaign costs, among a variety of needs, not to mention salaries, according to the secretary general.

In previous years, the MOPPA provided eligible parties with an annual JD50,000, Kilani said.

“Now they are offering JD12,000; this is irrational. Office rent costs more than that!” he exclaimed, as Mahaseh insisted that the figure in the draft was merely “a suggestion”.

“The ministry’s proposal is not finalised,” the MOPPA’s spokesperson reaffirmed.

In the meantime, negotiations between the parties and the ministry are ongoing, Kilani concluded, disgruntled by what he described as an attempt by the government to dismiss the parties’ demands.