Islamists make gains in Jordan vote overshadowed by Gaza war
Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamic Action Front rides popular anger against Israel to snag up to 20% of seats, turnout low in initial figures but up slightly from last election
Jordan’s Islamist opposition made significant gains in parliamentary elections, boosted by anger over Israel’s war in Gaza, initial official results showed on Wednesday.
The Islamist Action Front also benefited from a new electoral law that encourages a bigger role for political parties in the 138-seat parliament, though tribal and pro-government factions will continue to dominate the assembly.
The Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, won up to a fifth of the seats under the revamped electoral law, which for the first time allocated 41 seats for parties, according to preliminary figures seen by Reuters and confirmed by independent and official sources.
“The Jordanian people have given us their trust by voting for us. This new phase will increase the burden of responsibility for the party towards the nation and our citizens,” Wael al Saqqa, head of the party, told Reuters.
Tuesday’s vote represents a modest step in a democratization process launched by King Abdullah II as he seeks to insulate Jordan from the conflicts at its borders, and respond to demands for robust political reforms.
Under Jordan’s constitution, most powers still rest with the king, who appoints governments and can dissolve parliament. The assembly can force a cabinet to resign by a vote of no confidence.
The voting system still favors sparsely populated tribal and provincial regions over the densely populated cities mostly inhabited by Jordanians of Palestinian descent, which are Islamic strongholds and highly politicized.
Turnout among Jordan’s 5.1 million eligible voters in Tuesday’s poll was low at 32.25 percent, initial official figures showed, up slightly from 29% in the last election in 2020.
Candidates had expressed worries ahead of the election that the war in Gaza could dampen turnout, hurting chances for more significant gains by Islamists who had sought to capitalize on public anger against Israel.
“The Gaza war and the Palestinian cause occupy a major place in Jordanian elections, as all eyes and minds are on Gaza and Palestine and the massacres taking place there against the Palestinian people,” IAF candidate Saleh Armouti said ahead of the vote.
Jordanian officials say the fact that elections are being held at all while the war in Gaza and other regional conflicts are raging demonstrates their country’s relative stability.
The Muslim Brotherhood has been allowed to operate in Jordan since 1946. But it fell under suspicion after the Arab Spring, which saw Islamists pitted against established powers in many Arab countries.
They have led some of the largest protests in the region in support of the Hamas terror group, their ideological allies, in what their opponents say led to bolstered popularity.
Jordan’s top court in 2020 dissolved the country’s branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, citing the group’s failure to “rectify its legal status.”
