Jordan elections reignite censorship fight

As Jordanians head to the polls to elect a new parliament, their fifth in two years, many are sceptical their votewill bring change.

The present looks like the past: the Muslim Brotherhood is calling for a boycott , as it did in 2010 and 2011. Banners plaster Jordan's roads, cars, and roundabouts, thick with old faces and old platforms.

But one thing these elections have brought is a newly prominent role for social media. One candidate captivating the nation is Shibli Haddad, whose sudden popularity, thanks to a studio-recorded YouTube song and a Facebook photo campaign depicting him farming in sunglasses and a suit, was documented in a popular infographic .

On the eve of the election, an anonymously leaked YouTube video caused a kerfuffle, appearing to show members of Parliamentslighting a prime minister in 2009.

Jordan's King Abdullah, who has championed Jordan as an information and communication technology (ICT) hub since the beginning of his reign, has pledged that this election is a step towards openness and democracy.

With an increase in the quota for women, a pledge to consult parliament in the next prime ministry appointment, and the addition of coalition-friendly lists of national seats to the ballot, the Hashemite monarch promises to inch the country towards proportional representation and the healthy creation of political parties.

"I look forward to this immediate next step towards full parliamentary government," he said last week.

Yet for Jordan's tech community, whose leading new media platforms carry 75 percent of the region's digital content, the elections bring ongoing issues to a head. Last autumn, they fought long and hard against new censorship laws, despite a legal process initially stacked against dissent.

Now, they face a quandary, as they wonder whether the new parliament will pass the single document that they say will help protect the kingdom's fastest growing industrial sector.

Overturning censorship

Original post:
Jordan elections reignite censorship fight