As Jordanians head to the polls to elect a new parliament, their fifth in two years, many are sceptical their votewill bring change. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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 . <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"I look forward to this immediate next step towards full parliamentary government,\" he said last week. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Overturning censorship <\/p>\n
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Original post: As Jordanians head to the polls to elect a new parliament, their fifth in two years, many are sceptical their votewill bring change. Continue reading
\nJordan elections reignite censorship fight<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"