Executive Summary

The Government and the Economic File

This survey study has been conducted with the support of Qarib program, a regional program funded by AFD - Agence Française de Développement and implemented by CFImedias."

Jordanian parties directed their criticism at the government's economic policies and held successive governments responsible for the decline in investment, the rise in unemployment, high prices, the inflation of the national debt which has reached 41 billion dollars and the increase in the percentage of taxes imposed on citizens.

The parties that spoke to us did not hide their rejection of the government's policies that led to the withdrawal of investments from the Jordanian market thanks to its policies that did not provide incentives for investment and investors, in addition to its disregard for the environmental resources that Jordan possesses in order to exploit them to raise the level of the Jordanian economy.

The parties said that privatization policies are what led to a series of economic crises that were reflected in the decline of the purchasing power of Jordanian citizens and their social welfare. In addition to the successive government policies that mortgaged the Jordanian economy to the directives of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United States of America and other countries of the world.

The parties expressed their desire to change the prevailing stereotype of the role and effectiveness of the Jordanian economy through the economic reform programs that the parties said they possess and are ready to implement immediately if they succeed in reaching a position of power.

Parties' plans to develop some public sector departments

The political parties we interviewed called for the development of vital sectors with a strategic dimension, which can be summarized in developing and reforming the school and university education system so that Jordan regains its former prestigious position as one of the most important Arab countries in terms of the quality of education and its outcomes.

Parties called for returning to focus on the agricultural sector and developing effective strategies to revive this vital sector by developing legislation, reclaiming land, searching for water harvesting sites, expanding the agricultural area, educating and directing youth to agriculture, and for the government to take over the issue of marketing the product, which encourages youth to work in this sector.

It is possible that the government will distribute lands at symbolic wages to youth who are interested in working in this sector, some parties have suggested.

Parties criticized the government's policies on public transportation issues that no longer keep pace with the needs of modern Jordan, criticizing the experience of the high-speed bus, which did not solve a problem as much as it led to narrowing the roads in Amman and creating more crises and bottlenecks. Instead, some suggested using railways within Amman and between the governorates.

Parties and Energy and Tax Files

The parties saw that the taxes that Jordanian citizens suffer from have exhausted them and were a reason for the slow growth of the national economy and the loss of investments due to high tax burdens.

They called for a complete review of tax policies so that a progressive tax is adopted with regard to income tax, in addition to the fact that the sales tax does not seek justice and is paid equally from an income of 200 dinars per month and from an income of thousands of dinars per month.

The parties called for a radical treatment of the energy file so that solar energy and alternative energy are relied upon and financial costs and taxes are reduced, and even citizens are encouraged to use them, and to search for new alternatives to energy such as oil shale, nuclear energy, wind energy, and others.

Different parties said that they have plans and programs to address the energy and tax files if they come to power and said that they are ready to implement them.

The parties' plan to solve the public transportation problem

The parties saw the public transportation problem in Jordan as one of the most prominent problems facing Jordan, calling for a review of all policies related to public transportation through benefiting from previous studies to develop this vital sector for its great strategic impact on economic growth and facilitation for citizens.

Almost all the parties agreed that one of the most important solutions to this problem is to move towards establishing and building railways to connect all the regions and governorates of the Kingdom to each other, expanding in Amman, and transferring government departments outside the capital to alleviate the stifling traffic crises.

Democratic practice and the circulation of power within the party

The fifteen parties we interviewed stressed the importance of internal democracy in the work of the parties and their practice by adhering to the provisions of the party law, which also stressed the practice of this democracy according to strict and clear foundations.

The parties said that they are committed to this democracy, especially with regard to electing the leadership structures within the party, which must be chosen democratically and through the general bodies.

The party’s secretary-general is also not allowed to retain this position for more than two terms with the aim of renewal and providing opportunities for new leaders.

As for the mechanism for selecting party candidates to run in the parliamentary elections, each party has its own vision and mechanisms in this regard, but they agreed on the necessity of selecting candidates for the House of Representatives elections from those with competence and experience and the extent of their influence in their general social environment, as well as the extent of their ability to represent the party and express their positions and opinions within the legislative authority.

Cybercrimes

The parties were unanimous in rejecting any restrictions on press freedoms and freedom of expression, provided that criticism does not target personal life, character assassination, or distortion in public space.

The parties believed that social media platforms must be regulated after the chaos that prevailed in terms of character assassination and misleading information being published. Most of them indicated their rejection of any restriction on freedom of expression guaranteed by the Jordanian constitution, but at the same time they supported regulating the platforms and what is published on them.

While some parties expressed their complete rejection of the Cybercrimes Law in its vague form and the heavy fines, arrest, and imprisonment, other parties said that they support the law provided that some of its articles are amended, indicating that those who abide by the laws should not be affected by the provisions of the Cybercrimes Law.

Parties and Freedom of Expression

Jordanian parties believed that freedom of expression in Jordan is available, and even better than its counterparts in many other neighboring or distant countries, and that the Jordanian citizen or journalist or politician exercises freedom of expression with complete freedom in accordance with laws regulating freedom of expression.

Parties and enhancing the role of women in political and economic participation

Parties said that the role of Jordanian women is still weak in the labor market due to discriminatory policies against women in favor of men, despite the fact that their percentage exceeds 50% of the Kingdom's population, of which the percentage of youth is about 70%, more than half of whom are women.

Parties said that Jordanian women have become more university educated than men, in addition to the percentage of them obtaining higher university degrees, but the extent of their contribution to the labor market is still low compared to the percentage of men.

Parties indicated that they support women's political participation and entry into the political and party field, and they have held leadership positions in most parties, most of which have allocated special party offices and departments concerned with women's political and party affairs and issues.

Granting citizenship to children of Jordanian women

Parties' positions varied between their support for granting Jordanian citizenship to children of Jordanian women from non-Jordanian fathers, and those who categorically rejected this matter, while a third party took a middle position that includes granting children of Jordanian women their full civil rights, but not political rights.

This issue comes within the framework of the controversy that sometimes intensifies and sometimes spreads under the pretext that Jordanians and Jordanians are equal before the law in rights and duties according to the text of the constitution, which raises questions about the usefulness of the discrimination that allows a Jordanian man to grant his citizenship to his children from a foreign woman, unlike a Jordanian woman married to a non-Jordanian. According to the Jordanian nationality law, citizenship is granted through the father and not the mother, in addition to the fears that granting citizenship to the children of Jordanians entails regarding the Palestinians and the effects of that on emptying Palestine of its Palestinian population and the imbalances that could cause in the Jordanian demographics, knowing that most of the children of Jordanian women from foreign fathers were born and lived in Jordan.