Democratic Palestine : 36 (ص 26)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 36 (ص 26)
- المحتوى
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Jordan’s Elections
An Experience in Limited Democracy
Sixty thousand banners decorated
the Jordanian capital, Amman, on
October 14th, marking the beginning
of the first parliament elections in 22
years. This was called following the
popular revolt in April, that was
touched off by the mounting economic
crisis. The King of Jordan was forced
to announce the resumption of par-
liamentary life. He could not but see
that this protest was a clear sign of
rapidly growing disenchantment with
the regime’s policies of suppressing
democratic freedoms and obstructing
all change conducive to social justice.
Aiming to relieve the mounting
political and social tension that had
culminated in the: April revolt, the
regime allowed the elections, having in
mind a superficial exercise in democ-
racy. Yet, the very holding of the elec-
tion campaign served to revive political
life in the country. This shows the
masses’ need for real change on all
levels, and their hopes of regaining the
democratic freedoms that have been
suppressed for decades.
The Parliament’s Status
The parliament, being in principle
the most powerful institution in the
country, has the right to rule on all
laws and budgets. By a _ two-thirds
majority, it can override a royal deci-
sion. While the King appoints the
cabinet and prime minister, the parlia-
ment can throw them out - a right it
has exercised in the past, such as in
1951, and in 1962 when the parliament
withdrew confidence from the govern-
ment. (In 1951, the parliament was
suspended when it objected to the gov-
ernment’s program. In 1956, it was
suspended after it withdrew confidence
from Samir Rifai’s government in
opposition to its policies. Note: Samir
was the father of Zaid Rifai whose
26
government was forced to resign by
the April revolt this year.)
On the other hand, the King has the
right to suspend the parliament and
rule by emergency powers, as he did
for ten years, from 1974 to 1984. The
King also has the power to postpone
elections - due to be held every three
years - for two years. he can thus avoid
having elections when he feels they
would pose a threat, as happened in
1986. In 1986, the King extended the
parliament for two years, until 1988,
whereupon he suspended it just before
his decision to sever ties with the
Israeli-occupied West Bank. All in all,
the legislative body in Jordan has been
ineffective for fifteen years. As of July
last year, it lost half its members
(Palestinians supposedly representing
the West Bank).
Preemptive Measures
In itself, the holding of the elections
was a democratic experience for the
Jordanian people. The regime, how-
ever, diligently worked to keep them
from being fully democratic, by taking
some preemptive measures.
The decision to allow parliamentary
elections was not coupled with the
abolition of the emergency and martial
laws in force since 1967. This was care-
fully designed to enable the regime to
devastate the election in case the
results weren’t to its interest, or in
case of future differences between the
parliament and the cabinet, since the
emergency laws give the cabinet the
right to suspend the parliament «in
times of difficulty.»
With martial law still in effect, polit-
ical parties remain banned. Thus, can-
didacy was on an individual basis - in
itseif a violation of the people’s right
to organize. Moreover, the law
requires anyone who wishes to run for
office, to pay 500 Jordanian dinars,
non-refundable. It is clear that this
measure is directed against the toiling
masses: peasants, workers, craftsmen
and low-income employees, thus limit-
ing membership in the parliament to
bourgeoisie.
In addition, the law prohibits candi-
dates from reaching out to their consti-
tuency through public meetings or
other means they might choose. The
only means are forums organized
through government channels. In a
couple of instances, even authorized
debates between candidates were pro-
hibited. This happened in Al Balqa’a
district, when the mayor issued an
order on October 12th, forbidding any
debates due to the harsh criticism
Democratic Palestine, December 1989 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 36
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