Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: Parliamentary Election, 20 September 2016

At stake in this election:

• 130 seats in the Majlis Al-Nuwaab (House of Representatives)

Note on the results: For more detailed results of the election, please see here. 

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Hani MULKI (since 1 June 2016)
• Assembly: Jordan has a bicameral Majlis al-Umma (National Assembly) consisting of the Majlis al-Ayan (House of Notables; Senate) with 75 seats and the Majlis al-Nuwaab (Chamber of Deputies; House of Representatives) with 130 seats. Members of both houses serve 4-year terms.

Description of electoral system:

• In the House of Representatives, 115 members are elected from 23 electoral districts using open list proportional representation. 15 seats are reserved for women and 9 seats are reserved for Christians, Chechens, and Circassians.

Note: A new electoral law was established in 2015 which lowered the number of members of parliament to 130 from 150 and changed the electoral system. The new electoral process replaced the previous one-person-one-vote system and instituted an open list proportional representation system.

Last Election:

• Elections for the Chamber of Deputies were last held on 23 January 2013. Independent candidates won 123 seats, the Islamic Centrist Party won 3, Stronger Jordan, the Homeland, and the National Union Party all won 2 seats, and 18 other parties won 1 seat each.[1]

Main parties in the election:

• Islamic Centrist Party/Hizb Al-Wasat Al-Islamiy
  • Leader: Muhammad al-HAJ
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• Stronger Jordan
  • Leader: Rula ALHROOB
  • Seats won in last election: 2
• The Homeland/Hizb Al-Watan
  • Leader:
  • Seats won in last election: 2
• National Union Party
  • Leader: Osama Al-DABBAS
  • Seats won in last election: 2
• Islamic Action Front
  • Leader: Mohamed ZYOUD
  • Seats won in last election: 0

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 8,117,564 (July 2015 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 2,272,182 (2013)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 4,014,934 (July 2015 est.)

·         Is Jordan a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (3 December 1980)

·         Has Jordan ratified CEDAW: Yes (1 July 1992)

·         Gender Quota: Yes[2]

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 26 (11.56%)[3]

·         Human Development Index Position: 80 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Jordan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Jordan ratified CRPD: Yes (31 March 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 1,217,635