In the run up to last month’s municipal elections, an
intriguing video appeared online featuring a young man who claimed to be
running for mayor of Amman. The six-minute video, which was made by Amman101.com,
a new group that aims to promote civic-mindedness amongst Ammanis, shows how the
hypothetical candidate would go about solving the major issues facing the city
using practical and common sense solutions. Both the video and the website had
high production values and, more importantly, a clear and comprehensive manifesto.
Tragically, this fantasy campaign put to shame its real-world counterparts.
Like all election campaigns in Jordan, candidates use posters
as the main tool of communicating with voters. Granted, some municipal election
candidates set up election tents at random spots around the city to get their
message across. But the one I visited was more akin to an azz’a (funeral)
than a political soapbox, with no candidate or information booth that I could
see. I promptly left.
As I observed the poster frenzy gradually reach a lethal
road-sign-blocking crescendo as the August 27 election day approached, I failed
to find any candidate presenting a credible set of reasons for me to vote for them.
Their slogans were almost meaningless and vaguely political, which should be
completely irrelevant for the purely civil positions they were seeking to fill.
There were few, if any, tangible campaign promises, nor a website or Facebook
page to provide more detailed information.
I was particularly confused as to why some candidates proudly
announced their tribe had nominated them to run. Unless their fellow tribesmen
represented more than 51 percent of all the voters living in their district, it
hardly makes much strategic sense to play the tribal card because you will
likely alienate everyone else who isn’t a member. Moreover, this is about municipal
affairs, so a candidate’s message should be an inclusive one directed at all
the residents of a particular district.
Even though the Ministry of Municipal Affairs imposed strict
guidelines on where campaign material can be placed, there were still some rogue
candidates, or at least their hired hands, that slapped stickers and posters on
road signs, inconsiderately obstructing intersections. Of course this begged
the question as to how much the candidate really cared about the welfare of the
electorate.
But for me the most frustrating aspect of these district
council elections was how candidates so readily squandered opportunities to get
the attention of voters. Candidates are concentrating on a defined geographic area
with direct access to each of its residents. Door drops, car window pamphleting,
and giveaways aside, a candidate can actively engage the community in a
positively disruptive way and demonstrate first hand what they stand for. If
they want to address a garbage problem in a given neighborhood, then perhaps
they could hire a private cleaning company one particular week to clean up the
streets in a section of a district to the level they aim to have when you are
in office. Or maybe they could commission artists to paint existing bins on
every corner and get residents more active in refuse management, as the problem
most neighborhoods face is as much about the frequency and standards of the
rubbish collection as the residents themselves, not to mention the “recyclers”
in pick-up trucks who rummage through the bins and leave a mess behind.
Each district has its own unique set of problems and it
would be wise for a candidate to go around talking to people in the streets and
even knocking on their front doors just to hear the pressing issues and get
their name out there. Then there’s the dialogue and engagement that can be had
on social media. On a similar note, some candidates put their mobile numbers on
their posters. But when I called one, it was engaged. After a few more
attempts, it just rang out and eventually became out of reach.
Clearly we as a nation are capable of a higher standard of
electioneering, as demonstrated by amman101.com. But somehow when it comes to
the real thing, we fail to deliver. Money is clearly being spent by the
candidates, but in all the wrong areas. Anything that engages the community
directly is bound to get a dialogue going and demonstrate there’s a genuine
interest in improving their lives. At the end of the day, these elections were
meant to increase the participation of citizens in the running of their affairs,
but frankly I’m surprised if anyone voted since the candidates themselves have
demonstrated so little interest in engagement, let alone telling me what they
plan to do.
Wisam Suheimat
(First appeared in Venture Magazine - Jordan, Sept 2013)
