Jordan Times
January 19, 2003

Op-Ed

Acting Responsibly

Walid M. Sadi

The Monarch assured the country that parliamentary elections will be held during the first half of this year. This announcement sets the stage for the fulfillment of the people's dream for a viable and meaningful parliamentary life that truly represents the citizens' aspirations and yearnings. Still, one cannot help but note that if a war with Iraq indeed breaks out during the next few months, it would be difficult in the extreme to go ahead with the elections. A US-led war against Baghdad would inflame the entire region and would put a damper on the democratization process. The strain that any such armed conflict would impose on the country would naturally put off the continuation of the plans to hold parliamentary elections within the mentioned time frame.

The King also sounded the alarm, ahead of the projected general elections, about the viability of these elections, when he referred to recent polls that suggest that about 48 per cent of the public is not interested in parliamentary elections. This is most disturbing, said King Abdullah, since Jordanians must take part in the decision making process and this cannot be done without a great majority of the people going to polls and casting their vote in a manner that best represents their views. Needless to add, a greater turnout in general elections is a sine qua non for a workable democracy in the country.

Some democracies consider elections as null and void if a minimum number of voters does not cast its votes at the ballot boxes.

People's passive interest in general elections can be attributed to the perception that parliamentary life in Jordan did not make much difference to the lives of Jordanians where it counts most. Parliaments in the past showed much interest in political issues rather than in bread and butter issues. Even in terms of human rights, past parliaments' profiles are conservative in the extreme. The fact that a series of basic international human rights conventions that Jordan ratified in the distant past were never put before parliament for endorsement stems from the belief that parliaments in Jordan would never accept these international standards, given their composition now and in the future. This means that parliaments in Jordan are out of tune with the contemporary human rights standards and may end up delaying the country's determination to move forward on the matter.

The repeated suspension of parliamentary life also contributes to the belief that parliaments in Jordan are not that relevant. The adoption of a series of temporary laws during parliamentary hiatus reinforces the conviction that parliamentary life in the country has yet to develop into a meaningful political factor.

Closely connected to this point, the King said, is the urgent need for streamlining political parties in the country. The King once again sounded the alarm over the proliferation of political parties, 30 in all, all vying for parliamentary representation. This exaggerated number of political parties needs to be streamlined and reduced to no more than three or four. Surely, a country as small as Jordan can advance the cause of democracy better with fewer number of major political parties. As is, voters are confused as the differences between many of these parties are fuzzy and marginal at best.

No less important is the King's determination to give political development significance equal to economic and social development. This is most assuring for the two dimensions of development certainly go hand in hand and no aspect of development can be sacrificed for the other. This is exactly the message that international human rights law is trying to pass on to the international community. The two pillars of international human rights jurisprudence are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The two instruments are complementary and neither set of rights can be pursued in isolation from the other.

Now that the King has spoken in no uncertain terms about his vision for the future and the future course of democracy in the Kingdom, it is up to the people to respond to the challenges posed by their leader in the most responsible and constructive manner possible. The turbulent months ahead of us, however, may not offer the best time to continue the national dialogue on this pressing subject.