Jordanian parliamentary election, 2007
Encyclopedia
Parliamentary elections were held in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 on November 20, 2007 to elect representatives to the Chamber of Deputies of Jordan, which has 110 seats spread over 45 regional electoral districts, 3 closed tribal electoral districts and one national woman quota district. The Parliament guarantees a minimum of six seats for women, nine for Christians
Christianity in Jordan
Christians have resided in the territory constituting the modern state of Jordan since shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, early in the 1st century AD. Jordanian Christians now number at about 400,000 people, or 6% of the population of approximately 6,500,000, which is lower than the...

, and three for the Circassian and Chechen minorities. The biggest opposition party, the Islamic Action Front
Islamic Action Front
The Islamic Action Front is a political party in Jordan. It is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan....

, stated it would contest the elections.

Those elected constitute the 15th Chamber of Deputies. Electoral campaigning started one month before the elections.

Following the election, prime minister Marouf al-Bakhit
Marouf al-Bakhit
Dr. Marouf Suleiman al-Bakhit is a Jordanian politician and two-time Prime Minister. He first served as Prime Minister from 27 November 2005 until 25 November 2007 and then again from 9 February 2011 to 17 October 2011. Bakhit also held the position of Jordanian ambassador to Israel and the...

 and his cabinet resigned, as it normally followed in the Jordanian political system. King Abdullah II
Abdullah II of Jordan
Abdullah II ibn al-Hussein is the reigning King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He ascended the throne on 7 February 1999 after the death of his father King Hussein. King Abdullah, whose mother is Princess Muna al-Hussein, is a member of the Hashemite family...

 appointed Nader al-Dahabi on 2007-11-22 as the next prime minister to lead a new technocrat government.

Candidates

885 candidates contested the elections, including 199 women (the highest participation of female candidacy the country has seen to date).

Traditionally elections have been fought by individuals standing as independents or under tribal support and not as partisans. Some of the candidates in this election have political affiliations, and some belong to political parties.

Most of the Islamic candidates contested under the Islamic Action Front (IAF)
Islamic Action Front
The Islamic Action Front is a political party in Jordan. It is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan....

 banner, with the party fielding 22 candidates. Only 6 of those 22 representing the IAF
Islamic Action Front
The Islamic Action Front is a political party in Jordan. It is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan....

 candidates won the elections , which is viewed as a major setback to the influence of the IAF
Islamic Action Front
The Islamic Action Front is a political party in Jordan. It is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan....

 inside Jordan.

Transparency

The IAF
Islamic Action Front
The Islamic Action Front is a political party in Jordan. It is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan....

, who won 17 parliamentary seats in the previous elections in 2003
Jordanian parliamentary election, 2003
Parliamentary elections were held in Jordan on 17 June 2003. They were the fourth contest held after the political liberalization started in 1989 and the first elections to take place since 1997....

, has demanded independent monitors.

Marouf al-Bakhit
Marouf al-Bakhit
Dr. Marouf Suleiman al-Bakhit is a Jordanian politician and two-time Prime Minister. He first served as Prime Minister from 27 November 2005 until 25 November 2007 and then again from 9 February 2011 to 17 October 2011. Bakhit also held the position of Jordanian ambassador to Israel and the...

, the prime minister, turned down the request which he said would mean "that Jordan's transparency and electoral process is questionable".

But as reports of "vote buying" spread, a local newspaper published a picture showing a voter allegedly receiving a sum of money from the aide of a candidate.

Results

Overall turnout was 54%, though it varied between 80% in rural areas and 28% in some constituencies in the capital.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK