• The people of the Azmi Al-Mufti Camp consider voting abstention a contributing factor to producing a weak parliament

Forty people participated in a dialogue organized by the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies. The dialogue, titled “The 2024 Elections: Encouraging Political Participation and Discouraging Indifference,” was held in the Al-Karmel Sports Club in the Martyr Azmi Al-Mufti Camp in the Irbid governorate. The speakers included the mayor of Greater Irbid, Dr. Nabil Al-Kofahi, as well as a member of the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System, Ms. May Abu Addad.

The mayor of Greater Irbid, Dr. Al-Kofahi, discussed the reasons for low voter turnout, including the lack of trust in the political process and the negative impact caused by the single-vote system. Al-Kofahi pointed to the citizens’ trust in the Parliament elected in 1989, which was before the single-vote system was implemented. He argues that this speaks to how his system has damaged the citizens’ trust in the Parliament.

Al-Kofahi also spoke about the state of political and social fragmentation, with the key to overcoming this challenge being fair elections. In terms of parties’ roles, Al-Kofahi emphasized the need to improve the performance of elites and political parties, highlighting the importance of political parties being distinguished by their performance rather than being tied to individuals in the party. He also argues that political parties must renew their discourse and achieve institutional rationalization at both the government and party level.

In terms of external challenges, Al-Kofahi pointed to the danger that the Zionist enemy poses. He stressed the need to elect strong deputies who are able to support and strengthen Jordan against external threats.

Abu Addad, for her part, focused her intervention on presenting the outcomes of the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System, especially those related to electoral laws and parties. She emphasized the need to focus on selecting those who are able to perform legislative and supervisory roles in the Parliament, rather than focusing on the service aspect in the candidate selection process. She added that representatives cannot address daily challenges and issues, and the responsibility falls on the voter to choose a representative who represents their priorities and aspirations, rather than choosing a representative based on wealth.

Regarding political parties, she stated that they should be required to present programs capable of facing challenges, and these programs should be chosen based on the ability of the respective party to legislate for the entire country. She concluded her speech by emphasizing that change is everyone’s responsibility.

Meanwhile, the participants’ interventions and inquiries centered around the role of the Independent Election Commission in managing and organizing the election process, ensuring its integrity, and combating vote-buying practices. Additionally, the participants affirmed that abstaining from voting contributes to producing a weak Parliament. They called for the evaluation of the representatives' performance and for moving away from personality-based party politics. The participants also touched on the economic challenges that the youth face, especially with regard to job opportunities and the unemployment crisis.

The Executive Director of Al-Quds Center, Hala Salem, delivered welcoming remarks at the beginning of the dialogue. She then proceeded to present an overview of the activities organized as part of the national campaign to encourage participation and reduce abstention. This campaign, launched by Al-Quds Center, includes dozens of activities and dialogues targeting local communities in constituencies with the lowest voter turnout, in accordance with data from the Independent Election Commission. The campaign also includes four training camps for 300 young men and women from the six governorates with the lowest voter turnout, in addition to a series of awareness messages aimed at enhancing electoral participation and political life in the targeted regions and constituencies.
Salem also presented a summary that included the key electoral data and indicators for the Irbid governorate, noting that the voter turnout in the governorate reached 36% in the 2020 elections. She exhibited how this was a decrease in turnout compared to the 2016 elections, where the voter turnout was 42%. In terms of the participation rates for youth and women, Salem pointed out that the youth voter turnout was 36% in the 2020 elections, compared to 41% in the 2016 elections. As for women, the voter turnout was 24% in the 2020 elections and 31% in the 2016 elections.

The presentation also addressed the reasons for people’s reluctance to participate, including the lack of trust in the electoral process and elected parliaments, the prevalence of vote-buying, and the economic conditions that affect the citizens’ quality of life.

Khaled Al-Zabaidi, the secretary of the Al-Karmel Club, also delivered a welcoming speech, emphasizing the importance of raising awareness about participating in elections. He affirmed that the club was ready to collaborate with all awareness efforts regarding the importance of election participation.