The Legal Provisions of Electoral Campaigning in Jordan: An Analytical Study

Abstract

This study examines the legal provisions governing electoral campaigning under Election Law No. 4 of 2022 in Jordan, with the aim of addressing the study’s central issue: the adequacy of the legislative provisions regulating electoral campaigning and the effectiveness of the controls and safeguards adopted by the Jordanian legislator. Accordingly, the study seeks to analyze the legal provisions established by the Jordanian legislator to regulate electoral campaigning, determine the temporal and spatial scope of campaign activities, and highlight the legal provisions governing the financing of campaign activities for candidates running for parliamentary councils.

To achieve its objectives, the study adopts a descriptive approach through an analytical examination of the legislative texts relevant to electoral campaigning, assessing their effectiveness, and addressing any potential shortcomings. The study concludes that the Jordanian legislator has taken care to establish a set of legal provisions ensuring equal opportunities among candidates and electoral lists, the most important of which include the obligation of media institutions and public authorities to maintain neutrality and treat all candidates equally, as well as the requirement to designate specific locations for electoral campaigning and distribute them fairly among competing lists.

The study recommends incorporating a provision in the Election Law that explicitly sets out the principles and criteria to be observed in the allocation of designated electoral campaigning spaces among the competing lists, in a clear and precise manner.