Tuesday, November 20, 2007
So today is election day in Amman. These are the parliamentary elections, and the city is Abuzz with the excitement of democracy in action. Well sort of. There are so many candidates to choose from, and despite that each person has multiple representatives from their district, Jordan still used a 1 person 1 vote policy. This means that depending on the number of representatives per district, the power of any one persons vote is not equal to someone else in another district, a policy instituted (?) years ago to limit the power of the IAF (the political wing of the muslim brotherhood, and then only real opposition here in Jordan.) The IAF candidates have also been pre-approved by the government, and its number of seats limited to 20. (out of 110 i think). additionally, while voter turnout is said to be 50%, only about 10% of people vote for a candidate based on competence or platform, the rest vote primarily along the strong existing tribal ties, or for whichever candidate will give them 10 JD (about 14 dollars) for their support. This bribing is very open, and according to my friend who was at a polling station today, the money is openly exchanged, while the police do nothing, despite complaints by opposition party campaign workers. I was in a cab yesterday on the way to raghadan bus station (I spent yesterday up north doing research and interviews) and asked the driver about the elections. When i asked if he was planning on voting, he laughed and said "tomorrow is a day for sleep," referring to the fact that election day is also a holiday when few people work. Democracy in Action...
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