Jordanian Voter's Criteria of Selection of Members of the Lower House of Representatives in 2013 Elections

Abstract

Abstract:

This research aims at identifying the attributes that were viewed by the Jordanian voters as suitable and qualifying for a member of the Lower House of Representatives in the elections of 2013. These attributes were put in the following order, the candidate’s ability to satisfy peoples’ demands of public services, the candidate’s academic qualifications, the candidate is not accused of corruption, the candidate’s ability to keep the executive authority accountable, the candidate is religious, the candidate’s kinship, the candidate’s male gender, the candidate’s family relationship, the candidate’s ability to draw legislations, the candidate’s economic situation, the candidate’s female gender, the candidate’s place of residence, whether the candidate would pay money for the vote, whether the candidate is a former MP and whether the candidate is a former Minister.

The order of above attributes varied according to the voters’ categories, however, they have all agreed on the first two attributes which are: The candidate’s ability to satisfy peoples’ demands of public services and his academic qualification; the candidate being a former Minister came last.

Keywords: Criteria, elections, House of Representatives, candidate, society.