BySCEME
Jordan parliamentary elections, democracy or sham
Jordanians are set to vote in important parliamentary elections today, for the first time the country’s Pime Minster will be selected based on vote rather than chosen by the King. The new electoral framework is a result of mass protests around the country and dissatisfaction with King Abdullah II and the government. For the past two years protests have been fuelled by political and economic problems, one of the most pressing issues in the country has been the removal of fuel subsidies, along with issues of corruption and incompetent governing.
King Abdullah says these elections are the first step towards a gradual and necessary process for a better democracy, but many are doubtful and believe the elections to be a sham and purely for show. Protests against the elections have rocked every corner of the country on claims that the system is rigged in favour of rural existing tribal leaders and against the urban poor. The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition party in Jordan, and four smaller parties are boycotting the polls. Muslim Brotherhood deputy Rsheid tells Rusiya Al-Yaum says government reforms have brought little change and the majority of the power remains in the government not in the hands of the people.
Despite civil unrest throughout the region and uprisings, Jordan is one of the few monarchies to retain control of its government. But, with the largest opposition party boycotting the election and protests around the country, pressure will remain on King Abdullah and the government to make serious changes and devolve some of the power. Without these changes political stability, control of the government and peace may be difficult to maintain.
BySCEME
An increased representation of women in the new Algerian Parliament
Last week, Algeria became the first country in the Arab world to have more than 30% of its parliamentary seats held by women. The percentage of women parliamentary members now stands at 31%, up from 8% during the previous period from 2007 through 2011. Although activists say the battle is far from won, SCEME wants to welcome this increased representation of women in the new Parliament,which followed the adoption in January of a quota law stipulating 30% women’s participation. It’s “a welcome step in Algeria’s progress towards democratic reform and gender equality” said Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women.
The target of 30% women in parliament was recommended in the Beijing Platform for Action and general recommendations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). According to a U.N. press release, the Beijing Platform for Action was the outcome of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, and represents a wide-ranging blueprint for promoting and protecting the rights of women and girls. It identified the need to take measures to ensure women’s equal access to and full participation in power structures and decision-making.
Algeria joins 30 other nations that have reached or surpassed this target by the end of 2011, with seven countries surpassing 40% and two exceeding 50% of women in parliament (Rwanda and Andorra).
Now we must wait to see how the new women MPs, many of them inexperienced, will work together across party lines. Nadia Ait Zaid, a jurist who runs a center that campaigned for the quotas and trained some of the women candidates before the election, said that “women now have to prove that they deserved their seats”. She said the two main issues that female lawmakers will have to tackle are a family code that still does not grant full equality to women and a bill criminalizing domestic violence.