Parliamentary brawl in Jordan: Can voters鈥� faith be restored?
| AMMAN, Jordan
Increasingly, Jordanians say they think little of Parliament, if they think of it at all.
Once revered as the 鈥減eople鈥檚 house,鈥� Parliament is now being dismissed by some as a 鈥渉ouse of embarrassment.鈥�
A reminder why was a mass brawl last week during a debate over constitutional amendments that featured punches, body slams, headlocks, and a house speaker ordering lawmakers to 鈥渟hut up!鈥� It gave another black eye to an institution seen as less representative, or relevant, than in the past.
Why We Wrote This
In the kingdom of Jordan, Parliament is a once-revered democratic institution. To restore its stature, is it enough to improve representation without giving the 鈥減eople鈥檚 house鈥� a stronger voice?
Two decades of gerrymandering and electoral engineering by governments eager to suppress dissent have filled the legislature with MPs hand-picked for loyalty but lacking ideology or policies.
鈥淥ur Parliament is a sideshow; we don鈥檛 hear from them when it matters, and when we do hear from them, we wished we hadn鈥檛,鈥� says Bassam, a former military officer who asked that his full name not be used. 鈥淥ur representatives don鈥檛 represent anyone but themselves.鈥�
With faith in democracy and its institutions being tested around the world, and authoritarians flexing their own political muscles, voters in Jordan say they have given up on an institution that simply rubber-stamps legislation submitted by the royally appointed government.
鈥淲e vote for people to stand up to government policies, but they let us down each time,鈥� says Bassam. 鈥淭hey only do what the government wants.鈥�
Some say MPs publicly rail against unpopular government proposals, such as tax hikes, but then just fall in line.
鈥淣inety-nine MPs scream and shout they are against a law, but one telephone call later and they all vote in favor of it the very next day,鈥� says Abdullah Youssef, a clerk in Amman.
Says Oraib Rantawi, director of the Amman-based Al Quds Center for Political Studies: 鈥淛ordan today is one of the only countries in the world where people are happy when the king dissolves Parliament.鈥�
Vote of no-confidence
A royal committee is rushing reforms through Parliament it says can rebuild Jordanians鈥� trust in the system and regain their faith in the elected body.
Among the changes are steps to restore national parties鈥� representation and increase roles of women and young people in party politics.
But those moves, which coincide with others that reduce Parliament鈥檚 authority, may do little to restore the body鈥檚 stature.
In an October public opinion survey by the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, 15% of Jordanians expressed confidence in Parliament, making it the least-trusted institution in the kingdom, behind the army (91%), judiciary (53%), media (39%), unions (36%), and the government (33%).
In October 2020 parliamentary elections, 29% of eligible voters cast a ballot 鈥� the lowest participation rate ever in a Jordanian legislative election.
Mr. Rantawi says the plunge in support 鈥渃omes after attempts by successive governments to discredit Parliament in the minds of the people and reduce Parliament鈥檚 role in the political process.鈥�
It is an accusation repeated by MPs.
鈥淚n Jordan, Parliament is the people鈥檚 power. The only way to take away people鈥檚 power is to convince them that they no longer have it,鈥� says Saleh Armouti, an opposition MP aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood鈥檚 Islah coalition. 鈥淭his is why the government sabotages Parliament 鈥� to make it appear incapable of bettering people鈥檚 lives.鈥�
Islamist 鈥渟care鈥�
The directly elected body was celebrated by Jordanians when it was reintroduced after a 22-year absence in 1989 by King Hussein, who lifted martial law in the face of mass protests over rising prices.
The 1989 elections saw a 54% turnout. The Muslim Brotherhood鈥檚 Islamist party snagged 22 out of the then-80 seats in the legislature, creating the largest bloc.
In 1993, faced with the rising influence of the Brotherhood and opposition voices as Jordan neared a peace treaty with Israel, the government amended the elections law to minimize the presence of outspoken parties.
With each subsequent election, the government altered the system further to favor independent, tribal, and regional candidates over political parties.
For the past two decades, these laws combined with gerrymandering, rampant vote-buying, and alleged interference by security services to fill Parliament with pro-regime loyalists and others without party affiliation, political ideology, or policy proposals.
Only a dozen independents and opposition figures reached Parliament each election.
鈥淢oney, tribalism, special interests, and the interference of state agencies have created bad Parliaments that do not represent Jordanians鈥� dreams, wishes, and aspirations or even reflect their own ideas and values,鈥� says Rula al-Hroub, an MP from 2013 to 2016 and secretary-general of the secular, center-left Stronger Jordan Party.
With the influx of independent candidates, Parliament became dominated by performance politics.
Unable to vote against or defeat government motions, many MPs instead took to shouting and threatening violence in theatrical forms of aggression that made them appear tough to their constituents 鈥� without the hard work of legislating policy. 聽
But in recent years, even the performance art has lost its political edge.
The brawl last week, which erupted during a discussion to add 鈥淛ordanian women鈥� to the constitution鈥檚 preamble protecting individuals鈥� rights, was over a perceived personal slight between MPs.
鈥淭he vast majority of MPs come in as individuals, so they believe in their own egos, their sub-identities, their region, and their tribe. They have no political identity or agenda by which to organize their work,鈥� says Amer Bani Amer, director of Rased, an election- and Parliament-monitoring nongovernmental organization. 聽
鈥淭hey are not accepting of an open dialogue, and this is a reflection of broader trends in society.鈥�
Repairing the social contract
The loss of faith in Parliament comes at a time of acute economic hardship and social unrest in the kingdom.
The unemployment rate hovers around 28%. Jordanians鈥� trust in one another is at an all-time low.
Last summer, weeks after an alleged coup plot involving his half brother, King Abdullah formed a committee of politicians and experts across the political spectrum to help reboot and modernize the country鈥檚 political system 鈥渇or a new and critical phase.鈥�
The royal committee zeroed in on saving Parliament as key to repairing the social contract.
The committee鈥檚 reforms include reserving 30% of Parliaments鈥� seats for political parties at the national level, to be raised incrementally to 60% of seats over successive elections.
Others include requiring that political parties鈥� membership be at least 20% women and 20% below the age of 35, and lowering the minimum age for MPs to 25.
But with these changes have also come a host of constitutional amendments that activists and legal experts say have gutted Parliament鈥檚 powers, and broadened the king鈥檚 powers.
They include removal of an article requiring the prime minister to resign following the dissolution of Parliament 鈥� opening the door for king-appointed governments to govern in the absence of Parliament 鈥� and another measure granting the king the authority to appoint and remove senior officials and judges.
The amendments also formed a new body, the National Security Council, hand-picked by the king, which would exert authority over foreign policy and security outside parliamentary oversight.
What is left for parties?
These amendments have been rushed through Parliament this week with little discussion.
鈥淭hey have stripped Parliament of all its authority,鈥� says Ms. Al-Hroub, the former MP. 鈥淎s a political party, why should I run in the next elections? What is even left for political parties?鈥�
Many Jordanians are nonplussed by the amendments, if they have heard of them.
鈥淣o changes they make to Parliament, the law, or constitution will change the fact that they don鈥檛 want us to have a say in economic policy at home or foreign policy abroad,鈥� says Zayd, a 30-something plumber.
鈥淚f I see a political party that represents my demands for a fair economy, cracking down on corruption, and ends all cooperation with Israel, I would vote for them,鈥� says Rawwan, a university graduate. 鈥淏ut I doubt that any political party will be allowed to say what Jordanians actually think.鈥�
For now, the brawls, near and far, give some pause.
鈥淚f American political supporters can ransack the Capitol and destroy Congress, what hope do we have for our MPs here in Jordan?鈥� says Mohammed Hamzah, a taxi driver.
Not all Jordanians are pessimistic, however.
Ahmed, an engineering student paying for university by waiting tables at a downtown Amman restaurant, says reforms encouraging youth to enter politics could pave the way for positive change.
鈥淚f we can have more youth in Parliament and streamline my generation鈥檚 vision with the experience of veteran MPs, we can do a lot of good for our country,鈥� says Ahmed, who doesn鈥檛 rule out running for office one day.聽
鈥淲e have many things to contribute to better our country. All we need is the opportunity.鈥�
