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Elections and Parliament
Contents:
The Electoral
and Parliamentary Studies program (EPS) examines
parliamentary elections in Jordan and other Arab
and International countries as means of
comparison. EPS Program aims at studying the
different aspects of the electoral process and
its results, such as campaigning, voting and
polling. It also aims to develop techniques and
methods to analyze and monitor elections. EPS
Program devotes special attention to the impact
of electoral laws on democracy and political
multiplicity and works towards the involvement
of Municipal Elections in its activities. One of
the major focuses for the EPS Program is
Jordan's Parliamentary Life; especially on
analyzing the parliamentary structure, its
commissions, and its relationship with the
government, in addition to identifying
parliamentarians’ professional and political
backgrounds. In addition, EPS works for the
appraisal of the Parliamentary Performance, in
particular on the practicing of democracy and
studying of the action techniques of the
parliament and civil society.
EPS Program implements its activities through
organizing conferences, seminars, workshops,
roundtables, discussion sessions, trainings,
conducting researches and studies, preparing of
databases, and through issuing specialized books
and reports.
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The Jordanian Civil Alliance for Democratic Elections (JOCADE)
Upon initiative by Al Urdun Al Jadid Research Center, several Jordanian NGO’s summoned in mid April 2007 to discuss the responsibilities of the Jordanian civil society towards the upcoming municipal and parliamentary elections. These organizations agreed on creating an alliance entitled “The Jordanian Civil Alliance for Democratic Elections” (JOCADE). Attendees discussed and approved the objectives of JOCADE. Consequently, these organizations conveyed this initiative and product to a wider audience of organizations, which showed their enthusiasm to being among the founding members of this unprecedented initiative.
EPS Activities are divided into four major streams,
as follows:
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EPS Conferences, Seminars and Workshops:
Thirteen events ranging between Conferences,
Workshops, and Seminars were organized within
this program, and as follows:
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During the Year 2003
Four Workshops were held;
The first was on "The Demographic Map of Jordan
and its Role in the 2003 Elections", prepared
its main paper the researcher Nasser Ahmad Kamel, with the participation of 15 figures of
Jordanian political parties leaders and members,
academics, researchers, and writers. This
workshop took place at UJRC's Conference room on
July 13, 2003.
A second workshop was held under the title
"Jordanian Political Parties and their Role in
the 2003 Elections" and prepared its main paper,
Mr. Hussein Abu Rumman; UJRC's Executive
Director, with the participation of a number of
Secretary Generals of Jordanian political
parties and 10 researchers and academics. The
workshop took place at UJRC's Conference Room on
July 1, 2003.
A third workshop entitled "A Preliminary Reading
through Jordan's Parliamentary Elections of
2003" and prepared its main paper, Mr. Hussein
Abu Rumman, with the participation of 26
participants among whom were male and female
candidates to the 2003 elections, and
representatives of Jordanian political parties,
academics, and researchers. The workshop took
place at UJRC's Conference Room on June 25,
2003.
The fourth workshop was under the title "The
Palestinian Political and Parliamentary Thought
and its Role in Developing a Palestinian
Electoral System" and presented its key paper,
Dr. Taleb Awad; the expert in the Palestinian
Electoral and Parliamentary System. The paper
presented scenarios for developing the
Palestinian electoral system and the devoted
efforts since 1996 for recommending a new
Electoral System. Fourteen participants took
part in this event, representing politicians,
researchers, and academics. It also took place
at UJRC's Conference Room on June 22, 2003.
(The previously-mentioned papers of the four
workshops were publicized in the UJRC's "Civil
Society Issues" magazine, issue no. 15, June –
July 2003).
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During the Year 1998
Two seminars were organized on the topic "An
Assessment of Jordan's 1997 Elections", and a third
one on "Women within the Jordanian and Palestinian
Parliaments … Experiences across the River" with the
participation of the former member of Jordanian
Parliament Ms. Toujan Faisal, the Palestinian
Parliament member Ms. Rawya Al Shawa, and Ms. Angela
Grunert, a German writer who wrote a book on Female
Palestinian Parliamentarians.
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During the Year 1996
Three workshops were held: the first was on "The
Elections of the Palestinian Legislative Council:
Jordanian Supervisors Perspective". The Second was
entitled "The Arab Summit for Monitoring Elections
in the Arab World". The third was under the title
"Towards an Adequate Democratic Electoral Law",
where three papers and four testimonies were
presented.
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During the Year 1995
Two seminars were held by UJRC. The first was
entitled: "Electoral Legislations ... The
cornerstone of the Democratic System", within which
three speeches and eight working papers were
presented, and prepared by Eng. Sa'd Hayel Al Srour,
Hani Hourani, Hobert Dobers, Dr. Mohammad Mahasneh,
Dr. Fawzi Ta'emeh, Dr. Abdullah Al Akayleh, Eng.
Abdul Hadi Al Majali, Issa Madanat, Buthaina
Jerdaneh, Mazen Ersheidat, Prof. Nasmacher, and
Hussein Abu Rumman. The second seminar was on:
"Parliamentary Performance…Reality and Prospective"
in which three speeches and nine working papers were
presented. Participated in presenting them each of:
Eng. Sa'd Hayel Al Srour, Hani Hourai, Hobert
Dobers, Na'ela Al Rashdan, Prof. Welfgang Tseh,
Abdul Karim Al Dughmi, Dr. Bassam Al Amoush, Dr. Jan
Westenbroke, Dr. Turki Haddad, Dr. Abdul Razzaq
Tbeishat, Dr. Nizam Barakat, Hassan Abdullah, Dr.
Abdul Majid Al Azzam, Dr. Mustapha Shneikat, Dr.
Ayman Mashagbeh, and Haitham Hijazi.
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During the Year 1994
The conference entitled "The Current Trends of the
Electoral Systems" was held, in which four speeches
and eleven working papers were presented, by each
of: Hani Hourani, Thomas Milia, Taher Al Masri, Dr.
Nizam Barakat, Prof. Birnard Auin, Farid Al Khazen,
Charles Twain, Dr. Rateb Al Junaidi, Dr. Musa Al
Kilani, Dr. Mohammad Al Ghazwi, Basel Bustami, Dr.
Mohammad Mahasneh, Simon Osborn, Dr. Zaid Hamza, Dr.
Nizam Assaf, Dr. Muhanna Haddad, Faisal Hourani, Dr.
Idris Al Marakishi, Dr. Musa Shteiwi, Amira Bahi
Eddin, Dr. Taleb Awad, Dr. Patrick Merlo, Husni
Ayesh, Salim Al Zou'bi, Zuhair Abul Ragheb, Dr.
Eidah Al Mutlag, Hussein Abu Rumman, and Hamadah
Fara'neh.
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During the Year 1993
Two Seminars were held on Jordan's Parliamentary
Elections of 1993, one was conducted in Arabic and
the other in English.
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EPS Researches, Studies, and Opinion Polls.
This focus consists of the following issues:
- A Preliminary Study of the Results of Jordan's
Parliamentary Elections of 1997; prepared in early
1998.
- A comprehensive study on Jordan's Parliamentary
Elections of 1997; prepared in early 1998 with the
participation of 13 male and female researchers.
- An Opinion Poll to conduct the Political Parties'
Position of the Elections Law and the Trends of
Change; conducted in 1995 and included 23 political
parties.
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EPS Experience Exchange and Training Workshops.
This focus included conducting a two-weeks training
workshop in 1995 on the Methods and Techniques of
Elections Analysis, with the participation of the
American Professor Danouski, and incorporated
discussion sessions for academicians and
researchers, in addition to lectures at the
Jordanian Universities.
Also within this focus, a two-week tour in Europe
was organized in 1998, for a parliamentary-academic
delegation from Jordan to each of the German and
European Parliaments. The tour consisted of visiting
Germany, Brussels, and Strasbourg, with the
participation of nine Deputies, two of the Jordanian
Parliament staff, five academics, and two
researchers from Jordanian Universities and UJRC.
The delegation had attended several meetings with a
number of officials in each of the German and
European Parliaments, and with economic and
political institutions as well as media, the
European Commission, the World Bank for Investment
and Reconstruction, the European Economic and Social
Commission, and with Parliamentary Blocks and the
European Court for Human Rights.
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External Activities and joint activities with other
programs of UJRC.
This focus is based on the joint activities of
UJRC's programs activities, with the Electoral and
Parliamentary Studies Program; in particular, the
Civil Society and Democracy Development Program and
the Women Studies Program. This is all in addition
to the active external participation of UJRC team in
specialized activities that are directly related to
the Electoral and Parliamentary Studies Program.
Here are the main activities and participations:
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Working Paper
on "The Jordanian Experience of the Quota
System", prepared by Hussein Abu Rumman and was
presented at the conference of "Enhancing
Political Participation of Women through Special
Measures in the Arab Region", that was organized
and hosted by the Sweden International Institute
for Democracy and Electoral Support, which took
place in Cairo, December 5-6, 2004, in
cooperation with the UNDP, UNIFEM, and the
National Council for Women in Egypt. -
Working Paper entitled "Jordan's Quota … For it
and Against it", prepared by Hussein Abu Rumman
and was presented at the meeting entitled
"Enhancing the Political Participation of Women
at the Local, National, and Regional Elected
Councils". The meeting was hosted by the
National Commission for Women Affairs in
cooperation with the Electoral Support
Department at the United Nations, and was held
on May 22-23, 2005 in Amman.
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Working
Paper on "Special Arrangements for Active
Participation of Women in Political
Development", prepared by Hussein Abu Rumman
and presented at the third workshop on
"Jordanian Women and Political Development …
Addressing Fundamentals and Implementation
Techniques", which was organized by the
National Commission for Women Affairs at the
Jordan University for Science and Technology
on July 17, 2004. (Publicized in two parts
at UJRC's "Civil Society Issues" magazine,
issues no. 26; February 2005, and no. 27;
March 2005). -
Working Paper on
"The Relationship between the Legislative and
Executive Authorities in Jordan", prepared by
Hani Hourani and presented at the seminar on
"Cooperation between the Government and the
Parliament in the Arab World", which was
organized by the Parliament Program of the
Faculty of Political Sciences at Cairo
University, and took place in Cairo on March
10-12, 2004. -
A Study entitled
"The Jordanian Opposition and the Approaching
Parliamentary Elections", prepared by Hani
Hourani and was publicized on Al Jazeera website
www.aljazeera.net, exclusive files 2003, dated
June 14, 2003. -
A Study entitled
"Adjustments of the 2001 Law … Benefits and
Deficiencies", prepared by Hussein Abu Rumman
and publicized on Al Jazeera website
www.aljazeera.net, exclusive files 2003, dated
June 14, 2003.
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Working
Paper on "The Jordanian Political Parties
and Women Representation in the Parliament",
prepared by Hussein Abu Rumman and presented
at the workshop on "Political Parties' Role
in Enhancing Women Representation at the
Parliament" that was organized by the
National Assembly of Jordanian Women. The
workshop took place in Amman on June 4,
2003.
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Working
Paper on "The Requirements for Supporting
Representation of Jordanian Women at the
Parliament: A Media Perspective", prepared
by Hussein Abu Rumman and presented at a
specialized workshop for media officers
working in Journals, Radio, and TV. The
workshop was organized by the National
Assembly for Jordanian Women on September
18, 2002. -
Working Paper on
"The Role of Civil Society Organizations in
Supporting Women Reaching the Parliament",
prepared by Hussein Abu Rumman and presented at
a workshop on "Youth and the Electoral Process",
which was organized by the National Society for
Enhancement of Freedom and Democracy (JUND), in
Amman, on September 11-12, 2002. -
Working Paper on
"Jordanian Women Representation in the
Parliament: is it too late for requesting Quota
for Women", prepared by Hani Hourani. Mr.
Hussein Abu Rumman presented a commentary on
"The Personal Experience of Emily Naffa' at the
Jordanian Elections of 1997". The two papers
were presented at the "National Forum for
Supporting Women in the Parliamentary Elections"
that was organized by the National Commission
for Women's Affairs in Amman, April 9, 2002. -
Research on "The
Electoral Law no. 34 for the year 2001: Human
Rights Perspective" Prepared by Hani Hourani.
(Was publicized at UJRC's "Civil Society Issues"
magazine, issue no. 9, March-April 2002). -
Four Working Papers on "Women and Elections"
prepared by Dr. Ruqayya Al Musaddaq, Dr.
Margaret Al Helo, Dr. Salwa Jum'a, and Dr.
Ra'oufa Hassan. Five Papers on "Experiences of
Arab Parliamentarian Women" prepared by Rawya Al
Shawa, Dr. Orass Naji, Louisa Hanoun, Dr. Laila
Abdul Wahab, and Na'ela Al Rashdan. These were
publicized in the book "Arab Women and Political
Participation", 1999. -
Research on the
"Women Quota System", in the book on "Women and
Political Participation", 1999. -
Four Working Papers
on the "Relationship between Majority and
Opposition within the Jordanian Parliament",
prepared by Dr. Abdullah Nsour, Dr. Mohammad
Aweidah, Dr. Abdul Hafeth Al Shakhanbeh, Khalil
Haddadin. Publicized in the book "Democracy and
the Rule of Law", 1997. -
Working Paper on
"Assessment of Parliamentary Performance during
the years 1989-1994", prepared by Bassam
Haddadin, commented upon by Husni Ayesh.
Publicized in the book "The Democratic Process
in Jordan… Where to?", 1996.
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EPS Program Publications (Books)
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Who's Who in
the Jordanian Parliament 2003-2007, Hani
Hourani, Hussein Abu Rumman, and Nasser Ahmad
Kamel. 2004, 262 pages, (Arabic).
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Who's Who
in the Jordanian Parliament 2003-2007, Hani
Hourani, Hussein Abu Rumman, and Nasser
Ahmad Kamel. Translated into English by Muna
Al Amir, Edited by Ica Wahbeh. 2004, 260
pages.
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Studies in
Jordan's Parliamentary Elections of 1997,
Collective Work. 2002, 372 pages.
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Who’s Who
in the Jordanian Parliament 1997-2001, Hani
Hourani and Ayman Yassin. 1998, 232 pages.
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Who’s Who
in the Jordanian Parliament 1997-2001, Hani
Hourani and Ayman Yassin. 1998, 228 pages.
(English Version: Translated by Lola Keilani
and Lana Habash, edited by Terri Lore).
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Parliamentary Performance… Reality and
Prospective", Seminar Proceedings. 1996, 204
pages.
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Who’s Who
in the Jordanian Parliament 1993-1997, Hani
Hourani and Hamed Dabbas. 1998, 218 pages.
(English Version: Translated by George
Musleh, edited by Mark Power-Stevens).
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Who’s Who
in the Jordanian Parliament 1993-1997, Hani
Hourani and Hamed Dabbas. 1995, 218 pages.
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Contemporary Electoral Systems, Seminar
Proceedings. Edited by Hussein Abu Rumman.
1995, 296 pages.
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Reading
through Jordan's Parliamentary Elections of
1997, Hani Hourani. 2000, 66 pages.
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The
Jordanian Legislative Elections 1997, Hani
Hourani. 2000, 70 pages.
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Towards a
More Adequate Electoral Law, Seminar
Proceedings. Edited by Hussein Abu Rumman.
1998, 100 pages.
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Electoral
Legislations ... the Cornerstone of the
Democratic System, Seminar Proceedings.
Edited by Hussein Abu Rumman. 1995, 90
pages.
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Parliamentary Elections in Jordan …
Prologue, Results, and Outlook, Collective
Work. 1994, 76 pages.
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Jordan's
1993 Elections … Facts and Figures, 1994, 76
pages.
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Jordan's
1989 Elections ... Facts and Figures,
Collective Work. 1993, 60 pages.
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The Chart
of the Jordanian Political Party Scene on
the Evening of the 1993 Elections, Hani
Hourani. 1993, 24 pages.
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