Experts discuss alternatives to current electoral system

by Rand Dalmagouni, Jordan Times.

AMMAN — The one-person, one-vote electoral system has torn the fabric of Jordanian society and turned the social system of tribes into a political one rooted in narrow allegiances, according to analysts.

“This electoral system has dismantled society, creating divisions based on traditional, involuntary elements that became key political components,” Mohammad Masri, researcher at the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies, said during a debate on Monday evening.

“As a result, every political party is forced to deal with traditional structures that have nothing to do with the concept of a civil state and are there for a purely social function,” he added, calling the one-person, one-vote system a catastrophe that has negatively affected tribes by turning clans against each other.

Speaking at Monday’s HashtagDebates discussion on reforming the electoral system, Masri explained that the system under which every person is entitled to only one vote has been the basis for the Kingdom’s parliamentary elections since 1993.

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