‘New era’ to ‘less optimistic’, activists opine about draft parties’ law

AMMAN – Political activists have expressed mixed views regarding the elections and political parties’ draft laws, with some anticipating it will pave the way for a “new era” in political life for Jordan.

The draft laws were the result of the Royal Committee to Modernise the Political System (RCMPS)’s recommendations that were forwarded to the government late last year. 

The Cabinet endorsed the recommendations recently and sent them to Parliament to be debated and upheld.

RCMPS member Zaid Omar Nabulsi said the committee was tasked with producing legal frameworks for a functional democracy in Jordan.

“Our directive, on the eve of the Kingdom’s centennial, was primarily to draft a new Elections and Political Parties Laws that would usher a new era of elected parliamentary governments,” Nabulsi told The Jordan Times.

Nabulsi added, the “epiphany was too obvious: In order to have a sustainable constitutional monarchy, there needs to be in place a functional system of representative government that derives its legitimacy from the will of the people”.

“As the history of every successful democracy has proven, people can only be served and properly represented by being organised inside programme-oriented political parties that compete for people’s votes,” according to Nabulsi.

This must be done under a fair electoral system, with constitutional checks and balances demarcating the powers of all players, Nabulsi explained.

“The draft bill that we produced in the political parties’ law subcommittee — with zero external intervention or dictation, as His Majesty King Abdullah had promised —constitutes a truly groundbreaking leap, removing all the restrictions and anomalies of the past,” Nabulsi stressed.

One of the most notable articles that was included in the draft bill was ensuring the security of individuals seeking to join a political party.

“For the first time in Jordan’s history, the draft parties’ bill criminalises any persecution or harassment of members of political parties, their families or their donors, allowing them unhindered access to operate inside university campuses, which was unthinkable until now,” said Nabulsi.

The draft bill also allows for electronic sign ups to facilitate a wider membership base, Nabulsi, a political activist and lawyer, added.

Most importantly, governmental interference was entirely removed by placing political parties under the purely regulatory jurisdiction of the Independent Election Commission, according to Nabulsi.

The current prohibition on the formation of parties on religious or sectarian grounds was maintained, as well as the ban on using places of worship to advance political aims, Nabulsi stressed.

Jordanian economist BatirWardam, also a RCMPS member, saw the new draft law as a “genuine and strategic step to enhance the role of political parties in the political structure and decision making process of the Jordanian state”.

“The gradual transition to a party-led government is gaining momentum and was the main driving force behind the outcomes of the RCMPS, which has resulted in two draft laws on elections and political parties that are mutually connected,” Wardam said.

The key ingredients of the new political parties’ law are to push for more influential parties with bigger membership, more representation of society and better programmes, Wardam told The Jordan Times.

Creating such parties requires time, effort and deep debates to design strong programmes that provide solutions to top challenges facing Jordan, Wardam stressed.

But he was quick to add that some political parties will also be “created in a hurry as a vehicle for governance and authority”.

“The landscape of the political parties is expected to be more streamlined towards the basic political spectrums of right, middle and left with a strong presence of Islamic parties,” Wardam explained.

One of the most interesting aspects will be the possibility of the fundamental opposition movements of “Hirak” or street movements, to form one or more political parties to engage in the political and election process and test their actual public support, according to Wardam.

Meanwhile, Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) Secretary General Salma Nims expressed her concern over “the mushrooming of political parties following the recent introduction of the political parties and election draft bills”.

“The number of newlyregistered parties is on the increase, and we are not really sure how they will be able to have ideological focus and impact,” Nims told The Jordan Times.

Nimsalso said there is ambiguity concerning the “effectiveness and sincerity of the political parties in their inclusion of women members after the law is passed”.

That is why, Nims maintained, the JNCW is putting a plan to focus on supporting political parties to ensure that their internal policies and procedures will be responsive to the needs of their female members.

This includes ensuring effective women’s participation, directing their funds towards building their capacity and supporting them when they run for elections among other issues, according to Nims. 

Former MP and Secretary General of the Jordanian People’s Democratic Party Abla Abu Elbeh said she was “not optimistic”about the draft political parties’ law.

“I know that the government’s intention is to reorganise and reform political life in Jordan, but I feel this law is not drafted based on democratic foundations,” Abu Elbeh told The Jordan Times.

The former MP said she felt that it was drafted in a manner to “bring in new ‘leftists’ who will go along with the government on many issues and replace them with the current leftists and communists,” Abu Elbeh charged.

She noted the condition of providing 1,000 members to form a political party and that the general assembly should constitute 500+1 members to convene officially, otherwise the political party is automatically dissolved.

“This is an almost impossible condition that will result in dissolving many of the existing parties,” Abu Elbeh, a RCMPS member, stressed.

Turning to women and youth, Abu Elbehsaid that she attended some 60 RCMPS meetings and many targeted women and youth issues.

“The idea is to increase women and youth’s participation in various sectors. But in reality, before we increase the numbers, we need to know what their needs are,” Abu Elbeh said.

Abu Elbeh said her political party drafted a paper that includes some of the political parties’ concerns “regarding the draft law and we will discuss it with the Legal Committee because we know our issue here is political rather than legal”.