Gender Quotas Database
Jordan
Western Asia
Single / Lower House
Majlis Al-Nuwaab / House of Representatives
| Total seats | 130 |
| Total women | 17 |
| Percentage of women | 13% |
| Election year | 2020 |
| Electoral system | List PR |
| Quota type | Reserved seats |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Electoral law |
(B) 1. The capital, Amman, is allocated twenty seats within three local electoral constituencies, provided that there is a seat for a woman in each electoral constituency, … 2. Governorate of Erbd, is allocated fifteen seats within two local electoral constituencies, provided that there is a seat for a woman in each electoral constituency, ,,, 3. Governorate of Elbalqaa, is allocated eight seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, ... 4. Governorate of Elkarak, is allocated eight seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, ... 5. Governorate of Moaan, is allocated four seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, ... 6. Governorate of Elzarqaa, is allocated ten seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, … 7. Governorate of Elmafraq, is allocated four seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, … 8. Governorate of Eltafila, is allocated four seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, … 9. Governorate of Maadba, is allocated four seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, … 10. Governorate of Garash, is allocated four seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, … 11. Governorate of Agloon, is allocated four seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, … 12. Governorate of Elaqaba, is allocated three seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, … 13. Governorate of Bedwians of the North, is allocated three seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, … 14. Governorate of Bedwians of the Middle, is allocated three seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, … 15. Governorate of Bedwians of the South, is allocated three seats within one local electoral constituency, provided that there is a seat for a woman, … (C)- 41 seats are allocated to the general electoral district according to the closed proportional list system from the seats referred to in Paragraph (A) of this article to be elected from political parties lists according to the following: 1. at least one woman among the first three candidates, as well as among the next three candidates. 2. a young man or woman whose age is (35) to be among the first five candidates. (Article 8) (B) Regarding the seats allocated for women, Christians, Circassians, or Chechens candidates within the local electoral constituencies. The candidates shall choose between the track of quota or the track of free competition. The winner through the track of free competition shall not be counted on the list of candidates who were nominated on the track of the quota. The quota seats shall only be filled with candidates who were nominated according to the track of quota. (Article 9) (A) The winners of the parliamentary seats of the local electoral constituencies is according to the following: … 5. The winners of seats allocated for candidates nominated on the track of quota among women, Christians, Circassians, or Chechens shall be determined on the basis of the plurality of votes obtained by the candidate within the lists that exceeded the threshold. 6. Notwithstanding what was stated in point 5, in the event that no eligible candidate (according to point 5) is found among the lists that exceeded the threshold, the winner shall be determined on the basis of the plurality of votes cast for the nominated lists. (Article 49) |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law |
(C) 41 seats are allocated to the general electoral district according to the closed proportional list system from the seats referred to in Paragraph (A) of this article to be elected from political parties lists according to the following: 1. at least one woman among the first three candidates, as well as among the next three candidates. 2. a young man or woman whose age is (35) to be among the first five candidates. (Article 8) (F) Notwithstanding what was stated in paragraph (E) of this article, if it is decided to reject or eliminate a candidate nominated for the women or youth seats within the political parties lists, he/she should be replaced by the next in order from the women or youth candidates. (Article 16) See also articles 57.B, 58.A.1, 58.A.3, 71.A, 71.B |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | Yes |
Article 4
The party deserves a financial contribution according to the following:
a - 20,000 dinars In the event that the party nominates at least six candidates for the parliamentary elections in the nomination lists, provided that this nomination includes at least three constituencies. The financial contribution will be increased by 15% in case the nominees included women candidates or candidates under the age of (35) years. See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | No | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Upper House
Majlis al-Ayan
| Total seats | 65 |
| Total women | 10 |
| Percentage of women | 15% |
| Election year | 2020 |
| Electoral system | |
| Quota type | No legislated |
| Election details | IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| No data available | ||
Quota at the Sub-National Level
| Quota type | Reserved seats |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Electoral law |
(C) 25% of the elected members must be women. These seats will be distributed to the unsuccessful women candidates with the most votes. If there are not enough women candidates, then women are appointed by the Minister from among the female candidates registered in the voters lists for the governorate council. (Local Government Law. Article 3) See also article 8.C.1 |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official Name | Details, Quota provisions |
|---|---|---|
| No data available. | ||
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional information
Women in Jordan have had the right to vote since 1974. The quota system was introduced in the 2003 elections through amendments to Article 11 of the electoral law of 2001. The amended legislation provided a quota provision reserving six of the 110 seats (5.45 per cent) for women in the national parliament. These six seats were allocated to those women candidates who had achieved the highest percentage of all votes cast in their respective constituencies, apart from women who may have been elected in direct elections. Only one woman was elected directly in 2007.
After the House of Representatives was dissolved in November 2009 by King Abdullah II, the Cabinet adopted a new ‘temporary’ election law in May 2010 for the elections in November 2010, raising the number of reserved seats for women from 6 to 12 (reserving one seat per each of the 12 governorates). Following the introduction of this increased number of reserved seats for women, 13 women were elected in the National Assembly — 12 through a women’s quota and one through a direct election in Amman’s Third District (2010).
As part of the 2012 electoral reforms, the quota for women was increased to 15 seats for the January 2013 elections, while the statutory number of members of the House of Representatives was increased to 150. In the 2013 elections, 18 women were elected to parliament — 15 through the reserved seats (12 from each governorate and three from the Bedouin or ‘Badia’ districts), two as part of the proportional representation lists, and one through the majoritarian system in the districts.
King Abdullah dissolved the House of Representatives in September 2020 in light of elections in November. 360 women stood for the elections, compared to 252 back in 2016, yet solely 15 were elected of which all to reserved seats, implying a decrease from the 20 that were elected in 2016.
Sources
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Jordan on iKNOW Politics
- Al Muheisen, R. (July 12, 2021). Jordan ranks sixt in Arab world on 'Women's Power Index'. The Jordan Times.
- Alhassani, M. (December 8, 2020). Women leaders in Jordan work to combat violence against women in public life.National Democratic Institute [NDI].
- Bina, F., Mahadin, E., & Khasawneh, M. (2020). Report on violence against women in elections in Jordan. Karak Castle Center & Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
- OECD, MENA-OECD, MENA Transition Fund & The Jordanian National Commission for Women. (2018). Women's political participation in Jordan: Barriers, opportunities and gender sensitivity of select political institutions.
- Adam, N. (January 3, 2013). Women candidates face an uphill task in Jordan election. Arab News
- International IDEA & Arab NGO Network for Development [ANND]. (2005). Building Democracy in Jordan: Women's political participation, political party life and democratic elections.
- Husseini, R. (2001). ‘Jordan: Women and Politics.’ Al-Raida 18, no. 92: 27.
- Jordan Parliament website, http://www.parliament.jo/en
Explore more resources: Asia | Global
Know about useful additional reading for Jordan? Tell us!
Submit feedback
Submit questions or comments about the Data or Tool
How did you find out about this? What do you like about it? What did you expect but did not find in using the Data or Tool?
To see how we handle your personal data, please read our Privacy Policy.
