Speaker Hoyle welcomes Jordanian counterpart in his first UK visit
14 September 2023
Jordan hopes to increase its numbers of women MPs following next year’s General Election, the country’s Speaker told Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
Currently, the House of Representatives has 15 female Members out of 130 – and those are only reserved for women by a quota system.
But during his debut meeting with the Speaker of the UK House of Commons, His Excellency Ahmad Safadi said he hoped a change in the law would shake up the status quo when Jordanians go to the polls in November 2024.
Under Election Law introduced in 2022, the number of seats reserved for women would increase to 18 at the local level, but nationally, party lists would need to have at least one woman named for every three candidates.
In addition, the minimum age for a parliamentary candidate has been reduced from 30 to 25.
‘Women and the youth are the very cornerstone of our modernisation programme for politics in Jordan,’ Mr Safadi told Sir Lindsay.
‘We hope this new electoral reform will increase the participation of women in our elections and lead to more women MPs.’
He made the comments during a meeting instigated by Sir Lindsay as part of his Speaker-led diplomacy to establish enduring ties between countries and parliamentarians.
The Commons Speaker welcomed the news and emphasised the importance of equality of participation and representation in democracy.
He also expressed his hope that numbers of friendship groups between the UK and Jordanian MPs would increase next year, post elections in both countries, to enhance collaboration on issues, including education and health.
His Excellency Manar Dabbas – Jordan's ambassador to the UK – accompanied Mr Safadi and a delegation of cross-party group of MPs, including Dina Al Bashir, one of Jordan’s 15 female parliamentarians.