One element of the new rules is that 12 of the 120 seats in the Jordanian parliament, above, will be reserved for women.
One element of the new rules is that 12 of the 120 seats in the Jordanian parliament, above, will be reserved for women.

In Jordan, one man, one vote, one controversy



AMMAN // An election law that went into effect last week guarantees free and fair parliamentary elections, according to Jordan's government, but critics say it falls far short of long-desired reforms. The law was endorsed by royal decree on May 20, seven months after King Abdullah dissolved parliament halfway through its four-year term. It raised the number of seats to 120 from 110 and doubled the number of parliamentary seats reserved for women to 12.

Also, for the first time, judges will oversee the voting process. The next legislative elections are expected to take place this year. The law punishes those found guilty of selling or buying votes with a prison term of up to seven years. What civic institutions, reformist journalists, professional associations and Islamist politicians remain opposed to is the one man-one vote formula, which in 1993 replaced a system whereby voters were entitled to as many votes as there were parliamentary seats allocated for their district.

Critics say the formula deepens tribalism and favours government loyalists because voters are more likely to vote for a fellow tribesman whereas in the past there was a greater chance the votes could be spread out among the different open seats. The government claims that the new law represents true political reform in its drive to democratisation, begun in 1989. "The amendments were only cosmetic and there is no real change in the electoral system," Mohammad Masri, a researcher at the centre of strategic studies at the University of Jordan, said. "The only change is that the government divided the existing constituencies into virtual electoral zones."

"The electoral system should be a tool to re-engineer society because it is already divided into tribes and citizens based on their country of origin, so the current system will only strengthen these divisions," Mr Masri said. "It is sending a message to the public to return to their sub-identities and their tribal affiliation." A member of a prominent tribe can run in the constituency where he comes from and guarantee the votes of his tribe, Mr Masri said.

The government, however, defended itself against criticism and said changes to the voting formula would have needed more time and would delay the parliamentary elections. The minister of interior, Nayef Qadi, said last week in a press conference that a ministerial committee "saw that dividing the kingdom into individual constituencies with one parliamentary seat for each constituency would ensure justice among voters".

"The committee took into consideration all views and proposals made by some parties, organisations, research centres, writers, political figures and responded to the approach of the majority of Jordanians," he said. In 1993, the government introduced the one-man voting system to curb the influence of the country's Islamists one year before it signed a peace treaty with Israel. Even before the new law was endorsed, the Muslim Brotherhood criticised it and said it was an indication of a lack of will for political reform.

"The government's insistence on the one-man one-vote system ? [shows] it is incapable of producing a political environment that can handle the country's problems," Hammam Saeed, the Brotherhood's leader, said. But some analysts suggested that the Islamists are likely to benefit from the government's measure to partition multi-member constituencies into one-member subdistricts. "In this way they can choose their rivals, and will compete against weaker ones," Nabeel Gheishan, an editor and columnist with Arab Alyawm, an independent daily based in Amman. "In the district where an Islamist candidate will run, no one will dare to compete with him and that's why they will be competing against weak rivals. They can choose their rivals. But it is unlikely that they will make substantial gains. The one-man one-vote formula has always curbed their influence."

The amendments to the election law come at a time of regional uncertainty. The lack of progress with the Arab-Israeli peace process is already casting its dark shadow, and Jordan remains concerned that Palestinians will be resettled here permanently and then ask for political representation that matches their numbers. But in response to western pressure, the government increased the number of seats by four in the densely populated cities of Amman, Zarqa and Irbid, where Jordanians of Palestinian origin were said to be under-represented.

"The government gave them a few seats as a tactic to ward off external pressure on Jordan," Mr Gheishan said. "Jordan has a clear strategy and is keen to maintain the demographics ? particularly with Israeli calls to resettle and transfer the Palestinians to Jordan, which could change the balance of power in Jordan. "The country has maintained the status quo regarding the voting formula because it wants to see what will happen to the Palestinian issue."

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Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt

Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017

Based: Dubai, UAE

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Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers

Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised

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What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
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Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
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Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

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Romeo Akbar Walter

Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher 

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Rating: 1 out of 4

Running time: 81 minutes

Director: David Blue Garcia

Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham

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5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,400m​​​​​​​
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6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 1,600m​​​​​​​
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7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m​​​​​​​
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7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2.200m
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Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier, in Bangkok

UAE fixtures Mon Nov 20, v China; Tue Nov 21, v Thailand; Thu Nov 23, v Nepal; Fri Nov 24, v Hong Kong; Sun Nov 26, v Malaysia; Mon Nov 27, Final

(The winners will progress to the Global Qualifier)

Brief scores:

Day 2

England: 277 & 19-0

West Indies: 154

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE

Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:

• Buy second hand stuff

 They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.

• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres

 Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.

• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.

Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.

• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home

Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.