• In coordination with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Independent Election Commission
• Al Quds Center for Political Studies has concluded the first part of the “experience exchange program.” This program has presented the successes and failures of electoral experiences in Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, and Turkey.
• Over 130 leaders from 25 different political parties have taken part in the 4-day training on electoral campaign strategies, ways of selecting candidates, methods of building programs, preparing the work teams, securing funding, and building coalitions.

Al Quds Center for Political Studies has concluded the first preparatory part of the experience exchange project, entitled : “Boosting the Chances of Victory for Political Parties in Parliamentary Elections”. It spanned 4 days, split into two parts, and brought together over 130 leaders, including secretary-generals representing 25 parties, whether established or in the process of being established.

The project was conducted in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Jordan, under the coordination of the Independent Election Commission, and under the patronage of its chairman, H.E. Musa Al Maaytah. It aimed to inform Jordanian political party leaders about the experiences of similar political parties, drawing lessons from their successes and failures in electoral competition, and providing our national parties with the best skills and practices. This is particularly relevant since political parties are witnessing massive activism after settling their status in accordance with the new law and preparing to engage in the unprecedented parliamentary elections next year. His Majesty King Abdullah stressed the necessity of these elections being a main station and attracting massive participation.

In the first part of the project, Dr. Amina Maelainine, a former member of the Moroccan House of Representatives and a leader in the Moroccan Justice and Development Party, as well as an international expert in election affairs, shared the Moroccan political parties' experience in participating in local and parliamentary elections, emphasizing the distinguished experience of her own party. Her presentation focused on "the ways of preparing the electoral strategy and building the political platform," "the methods of selecting candidates and preparing electoral lists," "forming electoral alliances," and "funding political parties and campaigns." Furthermore, Dr. Toni Attallah, a Lebanese international expert and former dean of the Higher Institute for Doctoral Studies in Law and Political Sciences at the Lebanese University, presented the best international practices, along with aspects of the Lebanese electoral experiences, highlighting their pros and cons.

Jordanian speakers provided follow-ups on the previous presentations, drawing from their own experiences in Jordanian political and electoral affairs. Among them, Dr. Ali Al-Khawaldeh, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, who discussed "Legal Rules and Regulations for Campaign Financing." Professor Hussein Abu Ruman, who contributed to the session on "Candidate Selection Methods and Preparing Electoral Lists," and Mr. Oraib Al-Rantawi who discussed "Building Electoral Alliances in the Jordanian Context." Their excellencies, Mr. Samir Al-Habashneh, former Minister and Deputy, Mrs. Dina Al-Bashir, Member of the Parliament, Dr. Sabri Rabihat, former Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, and Mrs. Mayada Shareem, Member of the Parliament, chaired these sessions.

The sessions witnessed rich and in-depth dialogues among the participants, commentators, and session chairpersons on one side, and the party leaders and attendees on the other side. The dialogues examined the strengths and weaknesses of the Jordanian experience. Particularly, the session on funding political parties and campaigns sparked heated debates, with participants expressing clear criticisms of the current system and calling for an increase in budget allocations for parties in the state's general budget.

During the second part of the activity, the Tunisian and Turkish experiences were shared respectively by Dr. Mohsen Marzouk, a former Tunisian Minister and Presidential Advisor, and one of the founders of the Nidaa Tounes movement, and Dr. Muhammad Hüseyin Mercan, an expert on Turkish affairs, advisor to the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey, and an international election observer. Dr. Marzouk first shared the experience of the rise and fall of Nidaa’ Tounes movement. He also provided insights into the reasons, methodologies, and mechanisms that enabled the party to secure a majority of seats and the presidential seat in the 2014 elections. Dr. Mercan then presented the reasons behind the success of the Justice and Development Party in various local, parliamentary, presidential elections, and public referendums in Turkey over the past two decades.

The interventions of the speakers were distributed across two axes: the first axis addressed preparations and election campaigns, campaign strategies, the tasks of the working-team, and how to reach voters and monitor the performance of competing campaigns. The second axis focused on election day and beyond, including methods to motivate voters to cast their ballots on election day, party monitoring of ballot boxes, the processes of collection and sorting, and the announcement of results, culminating in the roles played by the party's legal teams in following up on electoral appeals.

H.E Mr. Bassam Haddadin, Member of the Senate and former minister, H.E Mr. Adnan Al-Sawaeer, previous Member of the Parliament and chairman of the Political Parties’ Committee in the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System, H.E Mr. Kheir Abu So’eleek, Member of Parliament and H.E Mr. Yanal Freihat commented on the Turkish and Tunisians experiences drawing inspiration from the Jordanian experience, within the Jordanian context. They drew the attention of the audience and participants to the most important and prominent lessons learned from these two experiences that Jordanian parties must grasp as they prepare for the 2024 elections.

The sessions of this second part of the program were successively chaired by their excellencies MP. Khaled AL Bustanji, MP. Asmaa Al Rawahneh; MP. Dina Al-Bashir and by Mr. Oraib Al-Rantawi. The sessions witnessed a high attendance over the two consecutive days, with a noticeable concentration of party secretaries-general in attendance, along with their party representatives.

The activities of the workshop were marked by a strong interaction of the participants, as they exposed the most significant challenges and apprehensions facing political parties. Participants also expressed a clear interest in gaining insights into the specifics of election campaigns, encompassing their organizational, logistical, financial, and other associated preparations.

The "experience exchange" workshop was held under the patronage of the Chairman of the Independent Election Commission, Engineer Musa Ma'aytah. In his opening remarks, he emphasized two messages, one directed at the parties and the other at the citizens. The first message stressed the necessity of preparing for the upcoming elections, while the second encouraged citizens to participate in both party activities and the electoral process. He also reaffirmed the principle of the state's neutrality in party competition and its equal stance towards all.

The workshops began with welcoming remarks from Dr. Edmund Ratka, the Director of the Jordan Office at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and Mr. Oraib al-Rantawi, the Director-General of Al Quds Center for Political Studies. They explained the objectives and goals of the workshop and highlighted the positive outcomes it could have on the paths of reform and modernization in the country.

Participants welcomed this initiative and emphasized its importance. They urged the organizers and the Independent Election Commission to continue this effort to build and enhance the capabilities of the parties in the lead-up to the upcoming electoral event. All parties expressed their readiness to cooperate in this regard in the coming phase.

Agenda:

Saturday, September 2nd 2023

09:30-10:00 Reception and Registration

10:00-10:30 Opening session and welcome speech
Speech by Mr. Oraib Al Rantawi
Director-General of Al-Quds Center for Political Studies

Speech by Dr. Edmund Ratka
Resident Representative Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) - Jordan Office

Speech by H.E Mr. Musa Al Maaytah,
Chairman of the Independent Election Commission Board of Commissioners

10:30-12:30 First session:
On the Road to Polling Day, the Experience of Nidaa Tounes… Tunisia’s 2014 Elections

Chairperson:
H.E MP Dr. Khaled Al-Bustanji
Member of the Jordanian House of Representatives

Session Topics:
- How did Nidaa Tounes win?
- Electoral campaign strategy/pre-campaign planning
- Task force/distribution of tasks
- Electoral program/electoral publicity/slogans
- Reaching the voters, tools, and methods
- Monitoring the performance of competitors’ campaigns, how the process was conducted.

Speaker:
H.E Mr. Mohsen Marzouk,
former minister and advisor to the former Tunisian president Beji Caïd Essebsi, and one of the founders of Nidaa Tounes.

- A reading of the Tunisian experience and follow-up comments inspired by the Jordanian experience.
Speaker: H.E Mr. Bassam Haddadin
member of the senate and former minister of political and parliamentary affairs.

General discussion

12:30-13:00 Coffee break

13:00-15:00 The second session:
On the road to Election Day, the experience of AKP… Türkiye’s 2023 elections

Chairperson: H.E MP Asma’a Al Rawahneh
Member of the Jordanian House of Representatives

Session Topics:
- How did AKP win?
- Electoral campaign strategy/pre-campaign planning
- Task force/distribution of tasks
- Electoral program/electoral publicity/slogans
- Reaching the electorate, tools, and methods
- Monitoring the performance of competitors’ campaigns, how the process was conducted.

Speaker: Dr. Muhammad Hüseyin Mercan,
Expert in Turkish affairs, election supervisor, political advisor to the AKP.

• Reading of the Turkish experience with follow-up comments inspired by the Jordanian experience.
Speaker: Mr. Adnan Al-Sawaeer
Former MP and chairman of the Political Parties’ Committee in the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System.

General discussion

15:00 Lunch

Sunday, September 3rd 2023

9:30-10:00 Reception and registration

10:00-12:00 Third session:
Polling Day, sorting processes, surveillance and appeals…Tunisia’s 2014 elections.
Chairperson: H.E MP

Session Topics:
- How to encourage voters to go to polling stations and ballots, tools and methods
- Monitoring the ballot boxes and validifying the integrity of the electoral process
- Monitoring the sorting process and the experience of the party’s electoral operations room
- Announcement of results/monitoring electoral abuse/appeals

Speaker: H.E Mr. Mohsen Marzouk,
Former minister and advisor to the former Tunisian president Beji Caïd Essebsi, and one of the founders of Nidaa Tounes.

• Reading of the Tunisian experience and follow-up comments inspired by the Jordanian experience.
Speaker: H.E MP Dr. Kheer Abu Saalik
Member of the Jordanian House of Representatives
General discussion

12:00-12:30 Coffee break

12:30-14:30 Forth session:
Polling Day, sorting processes, surveillance and appeals… Türkiye’s 2023 elections

Session Topics:
- How to encourage voters to go to polling stations and ballots, tools and methods
- Monitoring the ballot boxes and validifying the integrity of the electoral process
- Monitoring the sorting process and the experience of the party’s electoral operations room
- Announcement of results/monitoring electoral abuse/appeals
Speaker: Dr. Muhammad Hüseyin Mercan,
Expert in Turkish affairs, election supervisor, political advisor to the AKP.

- Reading of the Turkish experience and follow-up comments inspired by the Jordanian experience.
Speaker: H.E MP Yanal Freihat,
Member of the Jordanian House of Representatives.
General discussion

14:30 Lunch and participants leave