European Forum

Jordan elections victory for pro-government candidates; elections boycotted by Muslim Brotherhood

Final results show that the majority of the Jordan lower house's 120 seats will be filled by loyalists likely to continue King Abdullah's pro-Western policies. The new government will be supporting the tough economic policies of the new government that will be appointed by King Abdullah, aimed at cutting a record budget deficit, but leaving in question its credibility and deepening the people of Jordan’s alienation from the political process. The poll was boycotted by several groups, including the main opposition party and political wing of the Islamist organisation the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Action Front (IAF). Officials say turnout in Tuesday's poll was 53%, but the IAF disputes that. The boycott was a protest at a Jordanian election law which they say is undemocratic. It will probably leave the parliament packed with pro-government deputies.

The election law under-represents large cities like the capital of Amman, which are dominated by  Islamists and Palestinians, and over-represents sparsely populated rural and desert areas, which are strongholds of traditional and conservative tribes who back the monarchy. This for instance implies that a vote cast in Amman, a city with over two million inhabitants, has only a quarter of the weight of a vote cast in the small town of Maan, which has four times less inhabitants. The Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood and the largest opposition party, called for the government to redistribute the constituencies. However, the government neglected to carry it out and left the imbalance intact.

The pro-Western government of Jordan has been struggling for years to balance a measure of democracy with the need to check the influential Islamist movement and the large Palestinian population. The Jordanian government is worried about rising Islamism, as the Islamists once gained a majority in parliament before (in 1989), and especially since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2007. After the previous elections in Jordan, in 2007, the government was accused of fraud. This time international monitors were allowed to observe the parliamentary elections, for the first time, and experts acknowledge that the democratic procedures have improved since 2007. Vote-checking methods are better, it is easier to file a challenge and everything is computerized. However, observers note that remains to be seen whether the improved procedures will result in a better election. The opposition is skeptical at the political process and says little will change in Jordan. Moreover, voters are also worried and angered over the economic slump (the country was hard-hit by the economic crisis) and the stalled Middle East peace process, over which the government is accused of not being tough enough on Israel in its treatment of the Palestinians. There is fear that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians could be expelled from the West Bank into Jordan, if the peace talks fail.

Sources: New York Times, Euronews, Swiss Info, BBC, Xinhuanet