Article (67/2) of the Constitution, in its 2014 amended form, stipulates the establishment of an independent commission to manage parliamentary and municipal elections and any general elections in accordance with the provisions of the law. It also permits the Council of Ministers to commission the Commission to manage or supervise any other elections, based on the request of the legally authorized body to conduct those elections. Consequently, the constitutional legislator has established a dual system for the Commission's electoral jurisdiction: an original jurisdiction exercised in elections whose management the Constitution has assigned to it, and a commissioned jurisdiction that extends to other elections whenever the necessary constitutional and legal conditions are met.
In implementation of this constitutional jurisdiction in the elections of the chambers of industry and commerce, the regulations related to industrial and commercial chambers were amended in 2018, explicitly stipulating that the Commission shall undertake the management and supervision of the elections of their boards of directors and the elections of industrial and commercial sector representatives, by a decision of the Council of Ministers based on the request of the relevant minister, in implementation of the relevant constitutional text.
The Commission's role in these elections is not limited to general supervision, but extends to the actual management of the various stages of the electoral process. In the industrial chambers' elections, the Commission issued the executive instructions related to voter and candidate lists, the formation of committees, and voting and counting procedures, in addition to regulating electoral propaganda. It also handles subsequent procedures up to the announcement of results and the preparation of a final report on the course of the electoral process.
This extension in jurisdiction reflects an important development in the concept of electoral management in the Jordanian state. The purpose of establishing the Independent Election Commission in 2012 was not merely to create an administrative apparatus to conduct parliamentary elections, but to enshrine an institutional principle based on distancing the management of the electoral process from direct government entities and entrusting it to an independent commission established by the Constitution, thereby enhancing neutrality, trust, and transparency, and consolidating a unified institutional approach in managing various electoral events.
The importance of this approach is manifested in the fact that conducting the elections of economic and sectoral bodies through an independent constitutional entity enhances the confidence of general assembly members in their results and reduces the likelihood of questioning the neutrality of the managing body, especially in elections where multiple economic, commercial, and industrial interests compete. Independence in electoral management is not only important for political and local elections, but can have similar value in elections for institutions with broad economic and social impact.
The experiences of the two chambers of industry and commerce raise a broader question about the future of electoral management in Jordan and the extent to which utilization of the Independent Election Commission can be expanded as a specialized national reference in managing various types of electoral processes. The constitutional text provides space for this development by allowing the Council of Ministers to commission the Commission to manage or supervise other elections, which opens the field to study the appropriateness of utilizing its expertise in the elections of professional syndicates, associations, and various bodies, whenever the necessary constitutional and legal requirements are met.
In light of this development, and after more than a decade since its establishment, the Independent Election Commission has begun to consolidate its position as a national house of expertise in electoral management, relying on accumulated experience and specialized administrative and technical capabilities. The elections of the two chambers of industry and commerce embody this growing constitutional role, and affirm that the integrity of elections, whatever their nature, is linked to the independence of the body managing them and confidence in its procedures.
* Professor of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Jordan
laith@lawyer.com
