A recent poll has revealed that while a high voter turnout for next month’s municipal elections, political parties will do poorly as most people are destined to vote for “independent candidates”, i.e. their relatives. And this is how you press the repeat button.
The poll, conducted by the Jordan Centre for Social Research, found that voter participation in some governorates will reach as high as 70 per cent.
It also revealed that almost two-thirds of respondents intend to vote for independent candidates as opposed to representatives of political parties, consistent with voting patterns in previous national elections.
…Almost two-thirds of respondents in the three municipalities said they intend to vote for independent candidates, citing reasons relating to family and tribal affiliations.
Shteiwi said the findings do not bode well for the country’s transition to democracy.“Citizens vote for independent candidates because the current political parties are weak and their ideologies are too narrow. Unless these parties merge and become more representative, the future doesn’t look good,†he said.
Less than 10 per cent of respondents said they would vote for a political party. Out of these, 64 per cent in Zarqa said they would vote for the Islamic Action Front (IAF), as compared to 45 per cent in Karak and 43 per cent in Irbid.
…More than 90 per cent of respondents in the three municipalities said they had never been contacted by a council member once elected [Jordan Times]
I’ve never voted and will never vote because I do not trust any individual candidate or political party.. so it is not a loss that I am in America and can’t cast a vote 😀
Hi Nas: Your conclusion is not completely accurate. The greatest reason for voting for an independent is a history of service, followed by family relationships followed by personal acquaintance:
ÙÂيالتÙÂاصيل، قالت النتائج إن“السبب الرئيس للتصويت للمرشؠالمستقل ØÂسب رأيالمستطلعينهو أنيكونله سجل ÙÂيتقديم الخدمات للمواطنين(الناخبين)ØŒ يليذلك الانتماء العائلي/ العشائريللمرشØÂØŒ ثم المعرÙÂØ© والعلاقات الشخصية مع المرشؔ.
وقال الاستطلاع إنهذه النتائج تأتي“متسقة مع التوجهات العامة للسلوك الانتخابيومع أنماط الثقاÙÂØ© الانتخابية ÙÂيالانتخابات الوطنية الماضية والتيتؤيدها نتائج الاستطلاعات الأخرى”.
وأشار إلى “مدى أهمية الانتماء العائليوالعشائريÙÂÙŠØÂالة الكرك (33.3%)ØŒ مقارنة مع إربد (25.1%) والزرقاء (17.2%)”.
Source: http://alghad.jo/?news=181552
Well, if my uncle is a candidate, I would vote for him… and I dont think I will ask him about his plans! or would I?!
khalaf: its not my “conclusions”…the above is a direct excerpt from a Jordan Times report.
“Citizens vote for independent candidates because the current political parties are weak and their ideologies are too narrow.”
I do agree with Shteiwi about the weakness of political parties….but I wonder if their is a strong party that exist, would people vote for it and disregard family and tribunal ties for the sake of that political party? I don’t think so.
The problem is not only about “who are we going to vote forâ€Â, its also about who is actually going to vote “The Citizensâ€Â, their awareness and the effort to seek the best candidate.
I am most definatly going to vote for a woman. I will try to choose the best candidate just to support women and their movement toward equal rights.
Wish there are stronger political parties with clearer agendas and better media coverage where one would know better how to vote!
We press the repeat button because nothing changed from the last elections… the election law is the same, the political parties and their agendas still unpopular, the 3asha2iryya and tribalism remain the primary factors in any decision, so we will simply repeat what we have previously done, we will give our votes to individuals, not to weak political ideologies or non-existent social plans.