Experts predict higher representation of women in 20th Lower House of Parliament

AMMAN — Political analysts and activists have predicted that women will clinch around 25 seats in the upcoming parliamentary elections, slated this coming week.

The elections for the 20th Lower House of Parliament are slated to take place on September 10.

The New Elections Law granted 18 seats for women via the quota system. The law also stipulated that every third name in the political parties and national lists should be a female.

The last Lower House of Parliament included 15 females (out of 130 seats) who won via the women’s quota.

Former MP and Secretary General of the Jordanian People’s Democratic Party Abla Abu Olbeh said the new amendments in the Elections Law would surely play in women’s favour.

“I am speculating that at least 25 women will win the upcoming elections,” Abu Olbeh told The Jordan Times.

She added that she is hopeful that the quality of the women who will reach the Lower House of Parliament “especially that some come from a modest background, will be able to adapt quickly to the new role they are expected to perform along with their male colleagues”.

The new Elections Law designated 41 seats for the political parties out of 138 seats for the Lowe House of Parliament.

The Independent Elections Commission (IEC) had said that the number of eligible voters was 5,115,219, including 2,689,926  females, which represents 52.5 per cent of the total voters.

Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) Secretary Genera Maha Ali expressed optimism about women’s presence under the Dome.

“Women will have a bigger opportunity this time in terms of the numbers, which will reflect positively on their role as legislators and decision-makers,” Ali told The Jordan Times.

Women MPs will also have the chance to play a pivotal role in monitoring the government’s performance and this will reflect positively on the citizens’ aspirations and expectations of the role of deputies in general, Ali added.

Ali, a former minister, said the JNCW was very active recently in holding several activities in cooperation with the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs women to empower women leaders by holding training for 380 females in various governorates on how to participate in the upcoming elections.

In addition, Ali said the JNCW also held activities targeting the youth with eight government universities in cooperation with UN Women.

Ali also added that the JNCW held 52 awareness workshops in cooperation with the IEC, the Jordanian Women’s Union, the General Federation of Jordanian Women and the Jordanian National Forum for Women targeting local communities in different governorates.

The workshops focused on the importance of women's participation in the elections as a candidate and as a voter as well, according to Ali.

“These activities that the JNCW is holding are part of the National Strategy for Women and in line with the political modernisation vision translating the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah that seeks to ensure a stronger role and presence of Jordanian women in political, economic and social spheres,” Ali said.

The IEC stated recently that the number of eligible voters who will cast their ballots for the first time was 590,794.

Meanwhile, the number of eligible voters under 25 years old was 1,119,832, while the number under 35 was 2,323,478.

Communist party member Laila Naffa also speculated that around 25 women will win saying that the new Election Law contributed to this expected leap in figures.

 The law encouraged more women to run for elections since the list should include the names of women in the first six names. This will surely increase the numbers of women, Naffa told The Jordan Times.

“I am optimistic that the increase in numbers will be an opportunity to change the current status and that once they become MPs they will fight for women’s rights and put national interests above any other considerations,” Naffa added.

First deputy of the Secretary General of the National Charter Party Reem Badran said the upcoming elections “will surely witness the highest number of women under the dome”.

“I also expect that many will have an excellent experience because they are part of the political parties and will work in several blocks within the Lower House,” Badran told The Jordan Times.

Badran, a former MP, added that the high presence of women is important because “we want the female MPs to face the upcoming challenges such as unemployment, poverty and increasing women’s participation in the labour market”.

Director General of Community Media Network Daoud Kuttab also speculated a strong presence of women in the Lower House of Parliament.

“There is no doubt that there will be an increase in the number of women since the law states that every third name should be a woman and in one of the candidates’ lists the number one name is for a female,” Kuttab told The Jordan Times.

He also predicted an increase in the number of voters from the previous elections which was around 29 per cent.

“We will see an increase in voters’ turnout but the hope is that more women will vote for women to accomplish their goals of securing a higher number of women MPs,” Kuttab added.

Hayat Centre for Civll Society Development (Rased) Director Amer Bani Amer speculated the presence of 25 to 28 women in the upcoming elections.

“We feel that there will be more qualified women MPs who will make a difference because they are educated and are gaining more popularity and recognition by the society,” Bani Amer said.

Bani Amer told The Jordan Times that he speculates a higher voter turnout than in the previous elections and that the MPs will force new dynamics by forming blocks to address national matters.

The IEC stated that voters can check their ballot polling stations, location and the number of the polling box by visiting the website www.iec.jo or by contacting the hotline number 117100 or via free text messages at the number 94455.

On April 24, His Majesty King Abdullah ordered the holding of the elections for the House of Representatives, in accordance with the law.

In 2022, the Senate and the Lower House passed the 2022 amendments to the Political Parties Law, which require political parties to increase the percentage of women and youth to at least 20 per cent within three years after their foundation.

The Political Parties Law, along with the Elections Law, has been revisited by the Royal Committee to Modernise the Political System as part of its mandate to achieve the envisioned political reform.

During a visit in late April to the IEC, King Abdullah urged the IEC’s board of commissioners and staff to work to ensure the success of the electoral process, calling for zero tolerance of any violations.