26,272 young people are members of Jordan's 33 political parties — IEC

AMMAN — The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said that a total of 26,272 young men and women are members of the Kingdom's 33 licensed political parties.

The IEC said in a recent survey that Al-Mithaq Al Watani Party (the National Charter Party) topped the list of political parties in terms of the number of youth membership.  

According to the statistics, a copy of which was made available to The Jordan Times, the total number of youth affiliated with political parties reached 26,272 nationwide, of which 3,693 or 14 per cent are members of the Al Mithaq Al Watani Party. 

Secretary-General of Al Mithaq Al Watani Party Momani said that his party pays "special attention to the youth".

"Jordan is a youthful state, where 63 per cent of its population are under the age of 30," Momani, a former minister of media, said.  

"The party relies on the youth to build their political future through party affiliation, offering them support and assistance as they navigate the political landscape."

Momani said that Al Mithaq Al Watani's s young members are "loyal to the party's five principles: our religion, our throne, our army, our national unity, and Palestine and Jerusalem".

Momani told The Jordan Times that the growing involvement of Jordanian youth in political parties "signals a notable increase in their societal awareness regarding the importance of political engagement".

" This increase in participation has occurred within less than a year of concerted efforts by political parties," he said.

In a statement in January, political parties registry director at IEC Ahmed Abu Zeid said that 23,702 individuals under the age of 35 are members of political parties, constituting 38.5 per cent of the total memberships. 

Abu Zeid added that 10,455 of young members are females, making up 44.1 per cent of the total youth representation in political parties.

He said that the total number of members of political parties reached 61,534, including 34,575 males and 26,959 females, adding that 31 parties have met the conditions for establishment, under the 2022 Political Parties Law.

During a meeting in January with politically and socially active youth from various governorates, His Majesty King Abdullah reiterated that youth have an important role in political modernisation, calling for providing safeguards to enable their engagement in political life.

The King reaffirmed support for empowering youth and women to enhance their political and partisan engagement. 

At the meeting, attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, His Majesty called for forming platform-based national parties that address political, economic and social concerns, and where youth have a strong voice, adding, “We want platform-based parties, not individual-based parties.”

According to UNICEF, Jordan has one of the world’s youngest populations, as 63 per cent of its citizens are under 30 years old.

Jordan’s population reached 11.302 million people by the end of 2022, according to the Department of Statistics (DoS).

The 2015 General Census of Population and Housing revealed that minors (under 15 years old) constituted 34.3 per cent of the total population, while the working-age population (15-64 years old) accounted for 62 per cent. The percentage of older adults (65 years and above) was 3.7 per cent. The age dependency ratio was 61.4 in 2022.