Jordanian Women’s Political Participation in The Nineteenth Parliament Elections (2020): The Beginning of the Political Rise of Jordanian Women?

Abstract

Objectives: This study seeks to elucidate the significance of Jordanian women's political engagement in parliamentary elections by assessing their participation rights, examining the process of women's candidacy within the quota system, and evaluating their representation in open electoral competition. Methods: The research used the descriptive analytical method to identify the nature of Jordanian women's participation in the elections of the nineteenth parliament for (2020). This was conducted by analyzing the texts of the Jordanian Constitution and those of the Election Law for the parliament as well as identifying their contents, implications and objectives to find appropriate solutions to ensure the participation of Jordanian women in the parliamentary elections in addition to the study and analysis of statistical tables. Results: The results indicated that the Parliament’s Election Law granted Jordanian women the right to vote for membership in the Parliament while the Jordanian women participated as voters and candidates in the 19th Parliament elections for the year (2020). Yet, the results showed that the Election Law specified a mechanism for Jordanian women's candidacy for the women's quota and determined the extent of Jordanian women's representation through free competition for the electoral district. Conclusions: The study recommended the necessity that the competent authorities in Jordan shall review the Election Law for the Parliament periodically together with the need to amend the Election Law to specify a quota for women in the seats allocated to the Circassians, Chechens and Christians to ensure real equality in rights and duties between men and women