400,000 voters who registered in districts they did not reside in. History Martial law Under a constitution set up in 1952, political parties were allowed, and a Political Parties Law was passed in 1955 affirming this, although they had to register and be approved by the government. No majorities were elected, and this period produced coalition governments. However, upon the imposition of martial law in 1957 electoral activities and parties were banned. After this point party activity continued underground, and was expressed through other forms such as labour unions and professional organisations. Women received the right to vote and stand for office in 1974, although martial law was still in effect. A woman was first appointed to Cabinet in 1976, although during the 20th century participation was rare and mostly symbolic, with often just a token woman included. 1989 liberalisation The monarchy's firm control over the political process was maintained until an economic crash in the late 1980s caused protests, even among East Bankers. This prompted an unprecedented political and social liberalisation, revoking martial law and holding an election. The 1989 election was run using block voting, with voters casting a number of votes equal to the number of representatives of their district, with the candidates with the highest votes in each district entering parliament. This system was much the same as the one that had been used during the British mandate. There were 20 constituencies, although they were not evenly distributed by population. Eight seats were set aside for Christians, and three for Cicassians and Chechens. While political parties remained banned, many candidates were clearly affiliated with various groups, such as the monarchy and the Muslim Brotherhood. Out of the 80 seas, the majority were won by opposition parties, including Islamists, secular leftists, and pan-Arab nationalists. This was not representative of the percentage of the vote, with 20% of votes for the Muslim Brotherhood winning 30% of the seats, and the 16% of seats won by independent Islamists similarly over-representative. The 60% of votes that went to pro-monarchy candidates won only 40% of the seats. This was in part due to the better organisation of Islamists, despite the lack of official party structures. Despite this, the resultant parliament is viewed more favourably with the public than any subsequent parliaments have been. One-man one-vote In order to suppress future Islamist votes, King Hussein instituted a new system prior to the