With the participation of over 100 figures from the villages of Al Abbassiya and local communities of East Amman, the Al Quds Center for Political Studies, and the Association of the People of Al Abbasiya, organized a town hall meeting entitled 'The 2024 Elections: Enhancing Political Participation and Reducing Abstention.' The meeting featured Dr. Saddam Abu Azzam, the Executive Director of Lawyers Without Borders, and Mr. Oraib Al Rantawi, the Director-General of Al Quds Center.

In his speech, Abu Azzam focused on the importance of participation, describing it as a pillar of citizenship and one of the tools for forming public opinion. He noted that citizen participation is a means through which citizens can specify the priorities and issues that must be addressed, both internally and externally, by the government in accordance with the Constitution. He further explained that one of the primary roles of representative councils is to accurately represent the people in all their diversity. He stressed that abstention would lead to the election of representatives who prioritize their own interests over the public good.

Furthermore, Abu Azzam emphasized the importance of participating in elections and joining political parties, especially in light of the outcomes of the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System. He clarified the constitutional and legal environment resulting from the papers of the Royal Committee and highlighted the role they would play in shaping partisan parliaments and governments. He emphasized that this model of democracy is adopted by most democratic countries. Abu Azzam further stressed the necessity of ensuring independence, transparency, and accountability in the electoral process through the Independent Election Commission (IEC). He outlined the commission's role, noting that it is a national constitutional institution independent from the government in its work.

The Director of the Al-Quds Center, Mr. Oraib Rantawi, began by looking at the larger political atmosphere of the region, focusing on the War on Gaza and the impact of the October 7 operation, which brought the Palestinian issue back to the forefront of priorities worldwide. He emphasized that the developments in Gaza require strengthening the Jordanian internal front to support the Palestinian cause. Rantawi highlights that massive participation is the way to strengthen this front, as it will lead to the election of representative councils that will prioritize the Palestinian issue and the needs of the citizens at the forefront of the decision-making agenda.

Al Rantawi noted that the areas with the lowest voter turnout have participation rates of 4% or less. He called on people from these areas to actively participate in order to elect representatives who come from there and can express their needs and priorities. He further emphasized that it is necessary to address the phenomenon of vote buying, which occurs in the most densely populated constituencies and the lowest voter turnouts.

When discussing the role of political parties, Al-Rantawi explained that there are 38 political parties that Jordanians can join, and alternatively, they can form additional political parties if they do not feel that the current ones represent their views. He explained that security restraints, if there are any, occur far less frequently and are in no way comparable to those witnessed during previous decades, stressing the importance of joining political parties in light of the new period that Jordan is witnessing. In this context, Al Rantawi explained the voting mechanisms according to the election law, including the quota seat, and the threshold that electoral lists must reach in order to win parliamentary seats.

The participants then discussed various practices in the electoral scene that need to be addressed, such as the issue of vote buying. They stressed the need to raise awareness about the harm of this issue and ways to face and report it, aiming to form a strong parliament capable of fulfilling its monitoring and legislative role. In this context, participants called for improving the culture of the legislator and observer representative among the electorate and candidates, as well as raising awareness around party work mechanisms. They also raised questions regarding technical aspects of the election law, such as various voting mechanisms and calculations of votes toward winning at the local district level as well as the general election. They demanded taking into account population density when distributing seats to allow for fair and equal representation.

The Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Abbasiya Association, Mr. Abd Al Qadir Abu Nasra, opened the dialogue with a welcoming speech in which he praised Jordan’s role in supporting the Palestinian cause, stressing the importance of participating in the electoral process to elect strong parliamentary councils that will meet the needs and the aspirations of the public and enhance the Jordanian position. Abu Nasra called for a minute of silence and the reading of Al-Fatihah for the souls of the martyrs in the Gaza Strip. Mr. Kamal Shalbaya also moderated the session and introduced the speakers.