| One Amman, One Vote |
23 June 2003
|
Jordanian Election Almost Democratic
King Abdullah of Jordan has been ruling his country by decree for the last two years, citing the need for firm leadership after the Al-Qaeda attacked America and the US responded with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is almost always a bad idea, and the elections held last week for seats in the Jordanian parliament mitigate the situation somewhat. Yet, as the king himself said, these elections are part of a transitional phase -- meaning the people can't be trusted yet.
Voting in the Arab world is often meaningless. The Saddam-ite regime held a ballot just before the recent war began, and the Iraqi tyrant won 100% of the vote. Such massive voter fraud would even make Jeb Bush ashamed.
And so the gerrymander in Jordan ensured that tribal voters in the south wound up with a far bigger voice than the urban voters of Palestinian descent (one wonders if they have the right of return, since they appear to be Jordanian citizens now). Islamist factions won about 20% of the seats, and a token female MP will be seated as well. Approximately 25 parties participated, which His Majesty hopes will coalesce into right, center and left blocs, thus consolidating the parties.
"At a future date, voters will be able to choose candidates based on what they stand for, as opposed to who they are and what their affiliation is," King Abdullah naively said. One would surprised it this happened in Jordan since no one else has managed it in the last couple of centuries. What the king does not appear to understand, is that the voice of the people is often an angry, selfish, brutal holler, and not the calm voice of rational contentment. If His Majesty wonders where this can lead, he should contact the ghosts of England's Charles I or France's Louis XVI.