European Forum

Jordan's Islamists dealt heavy blow in elections

The Islamic Action Front (IAF) was dealt a heavy blow by the legislative elections on Tuesday 20 November as the number of its deputies dropped to six, according to official results announced on Wednesday 21 November. The results, announced by Interior Minister Eid Fayez at a press conference, also showed that women’s representation rose to a record of seven, six of them winning under a quota system. Meanwhile, there were news reports that a new government was being formed to succeed that of Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit. Also Wednesday, a Royal Decree was issued on Wednesday reappointing Zeid Rifai as president of the Senate, as of 17 November 2007.

Fayez said earlier that the elections were held in a smooth and transparent manner, noting that security agents arrested a number of men for alleged vote-buying, a violation that he insisted was limited. The number of Islamist deputies in the 15th Parliament will be the lowest representation for the Islamist movement since parliamentary life was revived nearly two decades ago. The IAF was unable to win seats in Zarqa and Irbid, its traditional strongholds, and only two of its eight nominees for Amman seats made it to the House. Moreover, none of the six candidates fielded by the National Coalition for Political Parties managed to make it into the next Parliament. Meanwhile, activists from the Jordanian Civil Alliance, an umbrella of NGOs, said despite some perceived setbacks in the voting process, the elections were held in a fair and free manner.

Source: Jordan Times