Jordan Times
Sunday, September 23, 2007
72 per cent of votes ‘locked’ - poll
AMMAN (JT) - Two-thirds of voters had already decided on their choice for mayor more than a month before election day, according to an exit poll conducted in six electoral districts on July 31.
Tribalism continued to dominate the elections, as in many cases, successful candidates had secured tribal and family consensus well before the voting day, according to the poll, which covered six municipalities varying in size and composition of population and located in different parts of the country.
The percentage of such “locked” votes was 72 per cent in all the surveyed districts.
However, the results show that undecided and swing voters could have had an influence on the outcome in certain districts where the races were very close.
The percentage of voters who made a choice within the seven days preceding the elections day and on the same day ranged between 11 to 22 per cent in Oyoun and 25 per cent in the city of Karak.
This year’s municipal elections were the first since 1999 in which mayors and municipal council members were directly elected, with the exception of the capital, where the mayor and half the municipal council were appointed.
The official turnout for the July 31 elections was 56 per cent. Around 2,720 candidates competed for a total of 965 seats in 93 municipal councils including mayors and municipal council members.
Female candidates were guaranteed a minimum of 220 of those seats under a 20 per cent quota.
The exit poll, conducted by the Jordan Centre for Social Research, indicated that youth aged 18-29 constituted 39 per cent of voter turnout.
Approximately 150,000 youth became eligible voters under the 2007 amended law which lowered the voting age from 19 to 18.
Also, the numbers of women voting for women and men voting for women were “disappointingly” low, according to the exit poll, which was based on 3,993 completed interviews.
Although the turnout for women in the six survey districts was 48 per cent, women voting for women did not exceed 11 per cent. Similarly, men voting for women did not exceed 9 per cent. The results found that only 1 per cent of the overall number of votes in the six survey districts went to a woman candidate for mayor/council member.
The poll, supported by the International Republican Institute, has 2 per cent a margin of error.