What's at stake in Jordan's parliamentary election?

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordanians vote on Tuesday for a 138-seat parliament, with tribal, centrist and pro-government deputies expected to remain dominant in a system underrepresenting cities where their Islamist and liberal opponents do best.

Here are some facts about the vote.

NEW ELECTION LAW

The government approved in 2022 a new electoral law that it termed a milestone in a gradual democratisation process paving the way for political parties to play a bigger role.

It retains a voting system that favours sparsely-populated tribal and provincial regions over the densely-populated cities mostly inhabited by Jordanians of Palestinian descent, which are Islamic strongholds and highly politicised.

The new law for the first time directly allocates 41 seats for over 30 licensed and mostly pro-government parties. It also raised the quota for women's representation to 18 from 15 seats and lowered the age for elected deputies to 25 from 30.

The new direct allocations should dilute the traditionally strong impact of tribalism which has blunted the emergence of national parties and curbed the influence of Islamists.

Officials say powerful King Abdullah’s decision to go ahead with the polls was a message that politics is continuing as normal despite the Gaza war that has cast its shadow over Jordan's economic and political outlook.

Many of the country's citizens are Palestinians, whose families settled after successive Arab-Israeli wars, entwining the kingdom - which signed a peace treaty with neighbouring Israel in 1994 - with the conflict next door.

WHO WILL VOTE?

Of Jordan's 11 million people, 5.1 million are registered voters aged over 18. There are 1,623 candidates, including 353 women, competing for seats over 18 districts.

Ten seats are reserved for minority Christians and Circassians. More than two thirds of Jordanians live in cities but are allocated less than a third of assembly seats.

TURNOUT

Officials hope for a higher turnout than the last election that brought limited gains for independent deputies and Islamists, but left the assembly mostly in the hands of tribal, centrist and pro-government members.

Turnout, which was 29% in the last election in 2020, is traditionally stronger in rural and tribal areas where it reaches as high as 80% in voting based on family allegiances.

Voting by mainly urban Palestinians, who form a large part of the population, was particularly low in the last election, averaging 10 percent in the capital Amman.

OPPOSITION PARTIES

The Gaza war is expected to help the electoral fortunes of Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition party.

The party, which has fielded 38 candidates with the slogan "With Islam we protect the nation", says they are contesting polls in the face of heavy state restrictions to ensure a vocal opposition to the pro-Western government.

ISSUES

The IAF is the only group whose followers rally publicly in support of the Palestinian militant movement Hamas, their ideological allies.

Most other candidates with limited political agendas have focused their campaigns on economic conditions such as unemployment, public services and inflation.

PARLIAMENTARY POWERS

Under the constitution, most powers rest with the king who appoints governments and can dissolve parliament. The assembly can force a cabinet to resign by a vote of no confidence.

Successive governments have had little opposition from parliament because it has been packed with loyalists.

Jordan is ranked not free by U.S.-based think-tank Freedom Houses' assessment of civil liberties and political rights.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)