IFES Election Guide - Country Profile: Jordan

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Parliamentary (Snap)
November 9, 2010

Jordan
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Region: Middle East

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: King ABDALLAH II bin Al Hussein
Head of Government: Prime Minister Samir al-RIFAI
Assembly: Jordan has a bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma) consisting of the Senate (Majlis al-Ayan) with 55 seats and the House of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab) with 120 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The King is hereditary.
The Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch.
In the Senate (Majlis al-Ayan) 55 members are appointed by the monarch to serve 4-year terms*. In the House of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab) 120 members are elected by single non-transferable vote to serve 4-year terms.**

* Members must be former public officials or otherwise notable and at least 40 years of age.

** There are 45 single- and multi-member constituencies. These are further divided into "virtual districts." While the voter chooses among all candidates in a constituency, candidates register in one virtual district each, and the plurality winner in each wins the respective seat. 12 seats are reserved to women. These go to the 12 highest female vote-getters in reserve virtual districts, with the exception that no governorate - there are 12 - or Bedouin district - there are 3 - may return more than one female Deputy to a reserve seat. Female candidates can, however, win non-reserve seats. Finally, 12 seats are reserved for Christian and Circassian candidates.