In an indicator of general voter apathy — especially in underrepresented urban areas — less than 30% of Jordan's 4.5 million eligible voters turned out on Nov. 10 to vote for the 130-seat Lower House of parliament. More than 1,600 candidates running on 294 lists contested the elections at a time when the kingdom is facing a spike in coronavirus infections, a shrinking economy and a rising rate of unemployment. Under the law, only voting in person is accepted.

The government had ignored calls on social media to postpone the elections for public health reasons. On the same day of the polls, the country recorded its highest infection and mortality rate — 5,996 positive cases and 91 deaths — putting Jordan at the forefront of countries with the most infections relative to population. Ministry of Health Undersecretary Wael Hiagneh told the official news agency on Nov. 10 that infections related to voting will become known within a week.

Following the closing of polls, the kingdom went into a four-day nationwide lockdown in an attempt to stem the tide of infections. But as provisional results were announced by midday Nov. 11, hundreds of supporters in a number of provinces broke curfew and celebrated their candidates’ victories by holding rallies and in many documented cases firing thousands of rounds of live ammunition into the air. A number of winning candidates joined their supporters in what looked like a coronavirus superspreader event. In other cases, angry supporters of losing candidates rioted and engaged in acts of violence. These unprecedented acts, which defied Defense Law orders against public gatherings, overshadowed the elections themselves and angered activists on social media who blamed the government for failing to implement the law.

As public anger simmered at the state of lawlessness, a seemingly angry King Abdullah tweeted on Nov. 12 his disappointment at the “sad scenes following the elections” and reiterated that "Jordan is a state of law where no one is above the law."