Posters to protests: The dynamics of Jordan’s recent elections

Voter apathy sparred with anger over the war on Gaza as Jordanians made their choices for parliament.

Amman, Jordan – In the early hours after election day in Jordan’s capital, the pervasive campaign posters were stripped from the city’s central districts before the preliminary results were announced.

In Paris Square, a bustling hub in the lively neighbourhood of Jabal al-Weibdeh, a few posters still cling to their perches and the occasional black-stained finger of a passer-by hints at the election that just ended.

Tuesday’s elections for Jordan’s House of Representatives came against the backdrop of nearly a year of Israel’s war on Gaza, an issue that resonates deeply with most Jordanians.

Twenty-year-old Lujain, a barista at a cafe, waves her inked finger. It takes a few days for this “proof of voting” to wash away.

This was the first time she had voted, yet many people in Lujain’s immediate circle chose not to participate.