THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM of JORDAN FINAL REPORT Parliamentary Elections 2013 EUROPEAN UNION ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION
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THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN FINAL REPORT Parliamentary Elections 2013 EUROPEAN UNION ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION This report is produced by the European Union Election Observation Mission and presents the findings of the EU EOM on the 2013 Parliamentary Election in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The content of this report has not been approved or adopted by the European Union and cannot be considered as a statement from the European Commission. The European Union does not guarantee the facts reported in this report, and does not accept responsibility for any way in which these may be used. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 2 Parliamentary Elections, 23 January 2013 European Union Election Observation Mission Final Report TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY …………………………………………………………3 II. INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………..6 III. POLITICAL BACKGROUND ………………………………………………….....7 A) Political Context ……………………………………………………………….....7 B) Key Political Actors ………………………………………………………………7 IV. LEGAL ISSUES …………………………………………………………………......8 A) Legal Framework ………………………………………………………………....8 B) Universal and Regional Instruments …………………………………………….10 C) Government System ……………………………………………………………..10 D) Delimitation of constituency boundaries………………………………………...11 E) Electoral System …………………………………………………………...........11 V. ELECTION ADMINISTRATION ………………………………………………..12 A) Election Management Bodies …………………………………………………...12 B) Election Preparations ……………………………………………………………13 C) Voter Education …………………………………………………………………14 VI. VOTER REGISTRATION ………………………………………………………..14 A) The Right to Vote ……………………………………………………………….14 B) Registration of Voters …………………………………………………………..14 VII. CANDIDATE AND NATIONAL LIST REGISTRATION …………………….15 VIII. ELECTION CAMPAIGN …………………………………………………………16 IX. THE MEDIA ……………………………………………………………………….17 A) Media Environment ……………………………………………………………..17 B) Legal Framework for the Media and Elections …………………………………18 C) Monitoring of Media Coverage of the Election …………………………….......19 X. GENDER EQUALITY……………………………………………………………..20 XI. MINORITIES AND OTHER GROUPS ………………………………………….21 XII. HUMAN RIGHTS AND ELECTIONS …………………………………………..21 XIII. CIVIL SOCIETY AND ELECTION OBSERVATION …………………………22 XIV. ELECTION DAY …………………………………………………………………..23 A) Opening and voting………………………………………………………………23 B) Closing and counting ……………………………………………………………23 C) Tabulation of results …………………………………………………………….23 XV. COMPAINTS AND APPEALS……………………………………………………24 XVI. RESULTS …………………………………………………………………………..26 A) Announcement of the results ………………...................................................... 26 B) Analysis of the results ………………………………………………………......26 XVII. RECOMMENDATIONS ………………………………………………………….27 XVIII. ANNEXES ………………………………………………………………………….33 The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 3 Parliamentary Elections, 23 January 2013 European Union Election Observation Mission Final Report The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Parliamentary Elections 23 January 2013 European Union Election Observation Mission Final Report1 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The parliamentary elections for the 17th House of Representatives in The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were held on 23 January 2013. The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has been present in the country between 13 December 2012 and 7 February 2013 following an invitation from the Independent Election Commission. The EU EOM was led by Mr. David Martin, Member of the European Parliament. A delegation of members of the European Parliament, headed by Mr. Christian Dan Preda, also joined the mission. The EU EOM deployed over 80 observers from all EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland across the country to assess the entire electoral process in accordance with international and regional commitments for elections as well as the laws of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (registration of voters was assessed indirectly). The EU EOM is independent in its findings and conclusions and adheres to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation signed at the United Nations in October 2005. The 23 January 2013 parliamentary elections were organised and conducted in a transparent and credible manner. Elections were technically well-administered despite serious inadequacies in the recently adopted legal framework. Election day was calm and peaceful despite sporadic local violent incidences. Polling, counting and tabulation of results were well-administered in the polling stations observed by EU EOM observers. However, delays and incoherent accessibility provided to the tabulation of national constituency results and related re-tabulations had a negative impact on the impartiality and transparency image of the Independent Election Commission. Jordan has ratified the major international and regional human rights instruments. Fundamental freedoms including civil and political rights are included and elaborated in Chapter Two of the Constitution. These elections were governed by a newly adopted legal framework which, generally, complies with international and regional obligations and commitments pledged by The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. However, it contains substantial gaps and deficiencies which undermine the protection of universally accepted principles such as the equality of votes and the universality of suffrage. The adoption of the new Election Law by the National Assembly and the establishment of an independent election management body signify an improvement and a start for further essential legal reforms. 1 The English version of this report is the only official document. An unofficial translation is available in Arabic. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 4 Parliamentary Elections, 23 January 2013 European Union Election Observation Mission Final Report The Independent Election Commission has made significant efforts to perform its mission in a transparent and impartial manner. Technical preparations were effectively accomplished within the operational and legal deadlines. A number of safeguard measures were introduced enhancing the public confidence in the process. However, the lack of a publicly available consolidated electoral calendar did not allow stakeholders to assess the stage by stage status of preparations. Election materials were timely distributed at the District Election Committees and further to the polling stations. For the first time, printed ballot papers including the names of the contestants with high standard security features were produced as well as the use of indelible ink. The legal framework contains substantial gaps and deficiencies which undermine the protection of the universally accepted principle of equality of votes. Provisions for constituency delimitation including competence, criteria and periodicity and the number of seats for each constituency were not included in the legal framework. Large discrepancies have been identified between the size of constituencies. For example the single-seat constituency in Ma’an 2 has 6.733 registered voters while the single-seat constituency in Irbid 7 has 48.701 registered voters. The universality of the right to vote was curtailed by the exclusion of large groups such as the armed forces, general intelligence, public security, gendarmerie and civil defense while in active service and is not in line with international commitments and the principal of universal suffrage enshrined in Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The final voter list included 2.272.182 voters. Some 71 per cent of the eligible voters were registered. However, extensive proxy voter registration affected the credibility of the voter registration process and contributed to a general perception of distrust about the accuracy of the voter list. Candidacy requirements are stipulated in the Election Law containing a detailed list of requirements, prohibitions and incompatibility largely in line with international commitments. The total number of candidates contesting was of 1,425, of which 606 (105 women) were running for the local constituencies and 819 (86 women) for the national constituency enlisted on 61 national lists. The constitutional rights of freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and movement were enjoyed by all contestants during the campaign period. Throughout the country, campaign was low key and overall calm, mainly concentrated in large urban areas and mostly visible through posters and banners, door-to-door activities, and gatherings in campaign tents. The lack of intensity and substantive content in the messages reflected disconnection with the socio- economic situation in the country. Several cases of extensive use of political money, vote buying and other fraud attempts marked the campaign period. Suspects including candidates were detained, allegedly, involved in forging or withholding voter cards, offering money to voters and “donations” to clubs and associations. The Constitution guarantees freedom of opinion and expression as well as freedom of the press. However, a rigid regulatory framework and self-censorship limited a lively public debate in the print and broadcast media. Whereas public media were legally obliged to provide balanced and neutral reporting, the private media remained in this respect unregulated. Broadcasting, print and online news media campaign coverage was highly commercialized. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 5 Parliamentary Elections, 23 January 2013 European Union Election Observation Mission Final Report The Constitution does not explicitly protect the principles of gender equality and non-