Reserved Seats (Jordan)

Jordan is one of the States post-Othomans where the system of millet survives, i.e. the recognized minority religious communities, in fact the Christians of various rites, profit since the Organic law (constitution) from 1928 from a legal autonomy for the matters concerned with the Personal status (primarily marriage, divorce, heritage), of freedom to have of distinct schools, but also a distinct representation as such at the Parliament.

National parliament

However, Jordan makes conspicuous itself with respect to its Othoman model or of Lebanon and the Authority palestienne by also granting reserved Sièges to the Parliament with other minorities, nonreligious, the Circassiens (Moslem not Arabic) and the Bedouin (Moslem Arabic).

These three minorities nun, ethnic and social are thus, as of the introduction of a legislative assembly transjordanienne, considering allotting a clear parliamentary over-representation compared to their real weight demographic, which corresponded to the will of monarchy hachémite to constitute a base of faithful allies within the Jordanian company face, for example, with Arab nationalists, one time favorable to the absorption of the kingdom within a unit Arab republic: in April 1963 for example, 32 deputies out of 58 voted in favor of a union with the Egypt, the Syria and the Iraq.

the first Parliament legislative (not elected) of Transjordanie was installation in April 1923 (at the time Aqaba still formed part of the Hedjaz, it was annexed only in March 1924)
As of the first elections, on April 2nd 1929, the " The Council législatif" elected for three years counted 3 seats reserved to the Christians and 2 in Circassiens out of 16 elected officials. The Electoral law of August 1928 laid down a deputy for 27.000 nonminority voters but for 5.000 Circassiens. The élecorale participation was so weak (3%) that the representativeness of this assembly was quasi null. New elections took place in 1931, October 1934 and June 1942.
In 1946, the " The Council of Communauté" counted 4 seats reserved to the Christians, 2 in Circassiens and 2 with the Bedouins out of the 20 elected officials (10 other members being the notable ones named by the king).
a new electoral law was adopted in April 1947 and of new elections took place on October 20th 1947 for the first National Assembly of what was from now on the Kingdom of Jordan, succeeding the Emirate of Transjordanie.
In 1965, the Room of the representatives counted 9 seats reserved to the Christians on 60, which accounted for 15% of the seats whereas the proportion of the Christians in the population was estimated at 6,5% at the most. One thus needed 12.222 for a Christian seat and 36.800 for a nonminority seat.
In 1980, out of the 60 seats (30 for the West Bank, 30 for Transjordanie) at the Jordanian Parliament, 10 were reserved to the Christians. So the representation of the Christians is twice higher than their real demographic weight.
" In 1996, in Jérash, the Christian candidate was elected with 2.6% of the voices, that is to say 885 votes, passing in front of 11 Moslem candidates provided better in voice. Three districts of two seats are reserved for a strictly Bedouin electorate and candidates (listed by section and even sub-section of the same tribe), that is to say on the whole 6 seats out of 80, for 200.000 voters potentiels." (extracted from Michel Bussi, To make vote the square kilometre? , 2003)
the electoral law of July 2001 changed the number of elected deputies from 80 to 104, among whom 9 Christians, 2 Circassiens, 1 Tchétchène and 6 Bedouins, plus a quota of 6 seats reserved to the women. With the elections of June 2003, no woman not having been elected, a special subcommittee had to determine, according to the results of the 54 not elected candidates, which would fill the quota.

Municipalities

On the level of the municipal councils, the system of seats reserved for the Christians was also in force until his abolition by the Law on the municipalities in 1955. As that had led to a strong reduction in the Christian elected officials with Jerusalem, the law was amended in 1960 to exclude Jerusalem from it, where half of the members of the municipal council from now on was elected and the different one named by the government on a proposal from the Minister of Interior Department, which made it possible to name two Christian elected officials in 1963.

The system was already in force in Jerusalem since 1920, with variable distributions:

1920: 4 Arabs and 2 Jews, Moslem mayor.
1927 : 5 Moslems 3 Christians, 4 Jews.
1934 : 4 Moslems, 2 Christians, 6 Jews.
1944 : first Jewish mayor, the 6 Arab advisers resign.
1945 : municipal council replaced by 6 British.
1946 : the city is divided by the British into Arab sector and Jewish sector, 35.000 Arabs are moved.
1948 (sector transjordanien): named council of 8 Moslems and 4 Christians.
1951 (Jordanian sector): elected council of 8 Moslems, 2 Melkites orthodoxe, 1 catholic Melkite and 1 representative of the other Christians.

Government

Another singularity, this country Arab had on several occasions a Prime Minister circassien, therefore not-Arabic, Saïd Al-Mufti. First Circassien to have occupied a ministerial position in Transjordanie was Omar Hikmat, Minister for Justice.

Of 1947 with 1965, there almost always were at least a member of the government resulting from the minority circassienne (in 26 governments out of 33), and at least two Christians (in 32 out of 33).

See too

Millet

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