A candidate standing in Jordan’s national elections has lost out on a seat in parliament – despite winning the highest number of votes for his district.
A report by Kharberni said Firas al Qidaa’, who was running on the Union List in Ajloun, was barred from power because of a complicated new system of voting that counts the votes gained by lists rather than individuals.
Qidaa’ attracted 8,295 votes – more than the 8,187 won by the next candidate, Kamal Zghoul. But the Union Party itself didn’t win enough to make the cut. Zghoul’s al Amal list got more than 14,000 votes altogether, and took the seat for the women’s quota, too.
The discrepancy has caused a scandal among Qidaa’s supporters, who have accused the new law of injustice and violations, resulting in a lost seat.
The rules, which were introduced in this year’s elections, sought in theory to encourage political parties over individuals. But even before the elections, observers and voters had suggested the rules were difficult to understand. Some voters told Al Bawaba they hadn’t heard of the new law at all.
It’s not the only controversy to have hit the Jordanian elections, either. Last night, riots and protests were reported in several areas following the vote counts, and popular MP Hind al Fayez withdrew from a reelection process after several ballot boxes in her district were stolen.
