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Jordan Islamists shun elections

January 23, 2013

Polling has closed in Jordan, in what has been the first parliamentary election since the 2011 Arab uprising. However the main Islamist party, the Muslim Brotherhood, has boycotted the poll, alleging corruption.

https://p.dw.com/p/17QWk
A woman casts her ballot at a polling station in Amman January 23, 2013. Polling stations opened on Wednesday in Jordanian elections boycotted by the Muslim Brotherhood, which says the electoral system is rigged in favour of tribal areas and against the large urban centres. Eyewitnesses reported queues of about a dozen people apiece at several polling stations across the kingdom just before the polls opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT). REUTERS/Muhammad Hammad (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)
Image: Reuters

The country's Independent Election Commission announced a voter turnout of 56.5 percent Wednesday, with polls closing after a one-hour extension was granted. The Muslim Brotherhood has questioned this figure, accusing authorities of inflating the turnout to disguise the impact of their boycott.

The National Centre for Human Rights in Jordan has reported vote buying in the capital Amman, and in the Balqaa governorate, to Amman's west.

The Muslim Brotherhood said in a statement it had information that "security agencies have a scheme to increase turnout."

"The turnout is very weak. The figures announced by the government are not accurate. The accurate turnout was around 16.7 per cent at 3:00pm (1200 GMT)," at a time the government announced an almost-32 percent turnout.

Some 2.2 million out of 3 million eligible voters were registered to take part. Before the poll, the government promised the elections would be free and fair.

Several arrests were made in the days ahead of the vote - including that of the president of the centrist National Union Party, Mohammed al Khushman - for allegedly attempting to sway voting by financial means.

The Muslim Brotherhood claims that an unfair distribution of votes gives too much representation to rural areas and means the urban poor are sidelined.

Implications of the boycott

At a news conference, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour made a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, dismissing claims Jordanians were staying away in large numbers, and that his nation would not "come to a halt at the request of this party or that group."

"If people do not want to vote, it is because they were not convinced of the performance of past parliaments or electoral integrity," but added that "this time, the elections are clean."

The boycott - which was also being observed by the country's National Reform Front - meant that the contest was essentially between tribal leaders, establishment figures and independent businessmen. Of some 1,400 candidates contesting the 150 seats in the country's lower house, only a few ran for recognized parties.

In an interview in September, Jordan's King Abdullah urged Jordanians to embrace reforms being put in place, and said the Islamist boycott was a "tremendous miscalculation."

Protests demanding that existing reforms go further have been on the rise since the Arab Spring movement began two years ago. Discontent has been exacerbated by economic pressures such as a sudden rise in fuel prices.

Results are expected to be announced on Thursday.

jr/dr (Reuters, AFP, dpa)