Break Out Your Axes--it's Election Time!

It’s election day! No School No School!!

Yes, it’s the parliamentary elections here in Jordan. Not like that means much—besides the fact that everything is closed so people can vote. Voting here is so two-faced and biased that no one really cares. In fact, the Muslim Brotherhood has called for a boycott of this election. People listen, this election is supposed to have the lowest voter turnout in over 20 years.

There are 120 seats in Parliament up for grabs in this year’s election. 763 candidates are running, including 143 women. Most, if not all, of the women are running for 12 seats that are exclusively reserved for women. Under the quota system, there are nine seats reserved for Christians and three for Circassians.

My overly cynical econ professor explained about how the election process works. About a month before the election, posters go up. This I can verify. I woke up one morning to tacky posters of candidates plastered every five feet. The pictures were AWFUL. I guess the posters have some cheesy slogan. But the funny thing, or perhaps not, is the fact that these slogans are all people vote on. Candidates don’t release their positions on issues. Nope, it’s only the slogan.

Most people vote for their friends, or their cousin’s friend’s cousin’s brother-in-law. Keep it in the family, you know. Cynical econ professor also explained that most people running for parliament only care about making money. People in parliament make around 3,000 JD (about 5,500 USD) but this is still triple the amount the average Jordanian makes in a year. So, it’s a lucrative profession.

The US embassy sent out a warning Americans in Jordan to stay away from polling places because it could get heated. At press time (1:24 PM) there already have been some crazy antics. 36 people were arrested in Madaba, about a half hour from Amman, for wielding knives and axes trying to get people to vote for different candidates. A driver, perhaps drunk, rammed into a polling station, injuring two. Four armed men were arrested for plotting to “disturb the vote.”  Still more were charged with election fraud. It’s only 1:30—there’s a long way to go.