| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Majlis Al-Umma / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Majlis Al-Nuwaab / House of Representatives |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Majlis Al-Aayan / Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
20 November 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats of the House of Representatives on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 28 March 2007
King Abdullah II issued a royal decree dissolving parliament ahead of legislative elections to the House of Representatives. The Government subsequently set the date of elections as 20 November.
In the previous elections held in June 2003
supporters of the King reportedly won two-thirds of the 110 seats in the House of Representatives. The Islamic Action Front (IAF
political arm of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood) won 17 seats.
The IAF boycotted the July 2007 municipal elections
alleging election fraud. In subsequent contacts with leaders of the IAF's centrist faction
Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit reportedly gave assurances that elections would be free and transparent
in return for a promise to remove extremists from the IAF electoral lists. However
the Prime Minister publicly rejected the IAF's demand to invite international observers
arguing that this would suggest that Jordanian electoral law was flawed.
In all
880 candidates
including a record 199 women (up from 54 in the 2003 elections)
contested the 2007 elections. The IAF fielded only 22 candidates (down from over 30 in 2003). Most female candidates ran as independents
promising to strive for womens basic rights including the freedom to work. The outgoing legislature had six women
who all were elected under reserved seats.
Most supporters of the King ran as independents. Many of them promised to improve economic conditions by fighting poverty and unemployment.
The media focused on the chances of the IAF winning more seats than in 2003. The party was seen to be losing ground. The IAF ran under the slogan
Islam is the solution
. It pledged to support people in Iraq and to amend the Constitution and the electoral law
without elaborating on the changes to be made. Its proposals on unemployment and poverty were reportedly similar to those of pro-monarchy candidates.
Support for Iraqi and Palestinian peoples was also a common theme among other opposition forces.
A total of 54 per cent of the 2.4 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
The final results gave a majority to parties and candidates allied to the King
while the IAF took only six seats. One woman was elected
in addition to the six seats reserved for women.
IAF leader Mr. Jamil Abu-Bakr alleged election fraud
including vote-buying
which the government denied. Following the elections
17 people were arrested for tampering with the election process.
On 22 November
King Abdullah II named Mr. Nader Dahabi as the new Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. He subsequently formed a 28-member cabinet including four women
which was approved by a royal decree on 25 November.
On 2 December
the newly-elected House of Representatives held a preliminary session that re-elected Mr. Abdulhadi Al-Majali as its Speaker. In the meantime
on 29 November
King Abdullah II had appointed 55 senators
including seven women. Mr. Zaid Al-Rifai was re-appointed as Senate President by Royal Decree. King Abdullah II officially inaugurated the parliament on 3 December. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 20 November 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
54%
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
103
7
6.36%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
