Jordan Times
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
72.5% of respondents
indicate willingness to take part in parliamentary elections
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh
AMMAN — A majority of Jordanians support holding parliamentary elections this
year and indicate they would participate in the general polls if they were held,
a local survey revealed this week.
An opinion poll carried out in March by the Jordan Centre for Social Research (JCSR)
reveals that 74.8 per cent of respondents support holding parliamentary
elections this year, while only 9 per cent said they were in favour of extending
the current Parliament’s mandate for another year.
His Majesty King Abdullah last month announced that parliamentary elections
would be held later this year.
The survey — conducted over a sample of 1,000 individuals randomly selected from
100 locations across the Kingdom — also indicates that a significant number of
Jordanians (29.5 per cent) think that there are no political problems in the
Kingdom.
It also shows a third of Jordanians (33.1 per cent of respondents) believe that
freedom to publicly criticise the government’s policies and decisions was not
guaranteed at all, while 28.3 per cent think that it was somewhat guaranteed.
According to JCSR’s survey, a majority (72.5 per cent) of those polled indicated
their willingness to take part in parliamentary elections if they were held
later this year.
This result, according to observers, contradicts a current public trend of
shying away from any kind of political participation.
“The outcome goes against current expectations by politicians and the media, who
believe that citizens’ enthusiasm for public participation in general polls was
waning because of negative past experiences and the growing sense of
disappointment with successive parliaments. Not to mention the declining living
conditions of citizens due to the hike in prices,” wrote Al Arab Al Yawm’s
columnist Nabil Gheishan.
The survey showed that Jordanians’ main priority was the rising cost of living
(46.1 per cent said it was a top problem that requires attention), followed by
unemployment (24.2 per cent) and poverty (12.2 per cent).
The poll, which claims a 2.5 per cent margin of error, also shows that a
majority of Jordanians (55.7 per cent) think that the 2003 Elections Law (the
one-person, one-vote system) “is the most appropriate for Jordan.” It said the
recent percentage was significantly higher (an 11.2 point increase) compared to
JCSR’s June 2006 poll.
This was also seen as contradictory to previous polls considering that the
one-person, one-vote system has been opposed by political parties and local and
international human rights activists since it was passed.
The one-person, one-vote system, which is perceived as restrictive and unfair,
has resulted in largely apolitical and tribal parliaments.
But according to the survey, 20.6 per cent of respondents said they support a
one-seat, one-district system, while 10 per cent support a mixed
(party/electoral lists and district seats) system and only 8.2 per cent support
a national proportional list system.
Asked if a mixed election system is applied in Jordan, more than half (51.8 per
cent) said they prefer that voters have one vote to elect either the district
candidate or the national list, while 40.6 per cent think that voters should
have two votes.
The poll also revealed that 36.9 per cent of respondents said they would vote
for Jordanian nationalist candidates if elections were held this year, while
only 16.9 per cent said they would vote for political Islamist candidates.
A third (30.9 per cent) of respondents said they would not vote based on
ideology, the survey shows.
Meanwhile, a majority (72.2 per cent) of those who said they would participate
in parliamentary elections (72.5 per cent), said they would not vote for a party
candidate.
Of those who would vote for a candidate representing a political party (17.5 per
cent), more than half (57.5 per cent) said they would vote for the Islamic
Action Front, which, according to pollsters, is only 10 per cent of those who
would participate in the elections and 7 per cent of the total sample surveyed.
This percentage was seen by observers as an indication of the diminishing
popular support for Islamists.
“This result reflects the current political reality and the growing lack of
popular support for political parties in general and the Islamists in
particular,” said Gheishan.
Also worth noting in the survey, was a 46.9 per cent approval rate by
respondents for current efforts to establish a large nationalist-centrist
political party.
The survey showed that 61.9 per cent of those who think establishing a
nationalist centrist party was a good idea, said they would consider voting for
the party if it is formed.
In addition, more than a quarter of this segment said they would consider
joining the party if it is formed.
The result comes at a time when political parties are faced with a new
controversial law that threatens their existence and could force a large number
of the country’s 34 weak and ineffective groups to merge.
The survey is also seen as timely, considering recent reports of plans led by
Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali to merge centrist parties and include
independent figures to form a national centrist front.