Women and the Muslim Brotherhood make gains in Jordan elections

Women took 20 out of the 130 seats in the Jordanian parliament. The number of seats in the parliament had been reduced from 150 to 130 but women won two more seats than in the much larger parliament.

There were 252 female candidates the most in Jordan's history. Asma Khamer, a former Jordanian justice minister said: “It’s a sign of growing acceptance among the public. People are now ready to see women’s names and photographs on political campaign posters around the country.”

The Muslim Brotherhood ended a decades-long boycott of elections that skews representation in favor of thinly populated rural areas dominated by tribal politics as compared to the cities where the Brotherhood is much stronger. Parties are not allowed in Jordan based on religion. The Brotherhood has joined with Christians and also prominent national figures to create the National Coalition for Reform (NCR). The Brotherhood is the main group in the coalition. Preliminary results show that the NCR won at least 16 seats. A prominent Brotherhood leader said the NCR would seek alliances with other groups in an attempt to form an effective opposition.

As Wikipedia notes, the Jordanian political system is dominated by King Abdullah II: Jordan is a constitutional monarchy, but the King holds wide executive and legislative powers. He serves as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief and appoints the prime minister and heads of security directorates. The prime minister is free to choose his own cabinet and regional governors. However, the king may dissolve parliament and dismiss the government.For years, the king has faced little opposition from a parliament dominated by pro-government leaders, businessmen and ex-security officials often elected on the basis of promises that address local issues.

Even though the parliament will not have power to block legislation or cabinet appointments, there would be livelier debate rather than a mostly rubber-stamp parliament as in the past. Repressive legislation has been passed with little opposition. The NCR is likely to press for more power for the legislature and a more representative system.

The turnout was poor with only 37 percent turnout. Experts say the low turnout is the result of the lack of political power that the parliament has. International observers praised Jordan for holding relatively well-administered elections. However, the EU chief observer, Jo Leinen said: "There is no equality of the vote. Under the current districting, large urban areas are under-represented, and sparsely populated or rural areas are considerably over-represented."

Ayoub Alnmour and election analyst said: “In Jordan, parliament doesn’t have sufficient constitutional authority to prove itself as a change-maker at a policy level, which is unfortunate. It is more focused on tribal representation, local services and job opportunities for family members. For me, the major short-term impact this election is bringing isn’t political. It’s social.”

Jordan is a key ally of many Western countries. It has a huge problem dealing with the flood of refugees from the war in nearby Syria and Iraq.

According to a report in the Middle East Eye the Brotherhood won nearly a quarter of the votes but just 15 seats according to electoral commission results. Ali al-Sukkar, an electoral spokesperson for the Brotherhood said that this showed the "elections law is unfair and like nothing anywhere in the world." Nevertheless, Zaki Inshid, a senior Brotherhood leader, said that "although these elections were not free from some violations, they did constitute a step forward." Although the new system was in part designed to meet demands of the Brotherhood, the results were still quite skewed with the Brotherhood getting 24 percent of the vote but only 12 percent of the seats. Parties on the left were unable to gain a single seat. Ahmad Nawfal, a professor of politics at the University of Jordan said the election proved that all government attempts to weaken the Brotherhood had failed while other factions were unable to elect members.

UK and Jordanian special forces working together in Libya

The Guardian reports that British special forces (SAS) have been deployed in Libya alongside Jordanian special forces since the beginning of this year.

The Guardian claim is based on a leaked memo in which U.S. lawmakers were briefed by Jordan's King Abdullah on plans for Jordan's own special forces to operate in Libya alongside those of the UK. The meeting was in the week of January 11. The memo said that the king met with congressional leaders including John McCain, Bob Corker, and Paul Ryan speaker of the House of Representatives. The king remarked that the Jordanian forces could be useful for the U.S. in that Jordanian slang is quite similar to Libyan slang.

The UK Ministry of Defence did not comment on the operations of the UK special forces and none of the high-ranking US senators contacted would grant an interview. One senate source did admit that the U.S. legislators met with the king in January but did not comment on what was discussed. Jordan is a key ally of the U.S. in the Middle East, having provided it with over $15 billion in military aid over a number of years.

Angus Robertson of the Scottish National party asked that UK special forces (SAS) be subject to parliamentary oversight but PM David Cameron rejected the demand. Crispin Blunt, the foreign affairs select committee chair, said:“King Abdullah gives a level of insight that we don’t get from our own governments. He has given presentations to parliamentarians behind closed doors in the past. We don’t get that from our own ministers. When [the foreign office minister] Tobias Ellwood told us about RAF flights over Libya these were plainly in support of special forces missions. But when we asked for details we were told the government doesn’t comment on special forces...There is a tendency for the British establishment to work out everything very carefully and then present it to parliament as ‘a take it or leave it’ choice. And then ministers wonder why they have difficulties in parliament.”In an interview with Atlantic magazine recently, U.S. President Barack Obama criticized Cameron for not following through to ensure a smooth transition to democracy in Libya after Gadaffi was overthrown.

The UK and Jordanians probably have the support of the internationally-recognized House of Representatives (HoR), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army, General Khalifa Haftar. In July of last year, Haftar was threatened with sanctions and named to be sanctioned by the EU. The next month he travelled to Jordan and signed a military agreement with the country. Nothing more was heard about any sanctions against him and he obviously has the support of Jordan.

Saudi Arabian heir apparent Prince Nayef dies

The prince had just been named heir to the throne last October. He was 78. Prince Nayef served as interior minister in the government and was responsible for the crackdown on Al Qaeda.

The Prince died abroad where he had gone for medical treatment. There is a photo showing him greeting supporters three days ago (June 13) in Switzerland. No details were given about his illness or death.

The ruling monarch Abdullah is 88 and has now managed to outlive two who were designated to take his place! The favorite new heir is Prince Salman the current defense minister. For more see this article.

Jordan: Pro-democracy protesters face jail terms of up to ten years from military tribunal.

Twelve pro-democracy protesters arrested over the weekend will be tried by a military tribunal. They took part in protests that demanded regime change in Jordan. Military tribunals are also still being used to try protesters in Egypt as well.


The activists shouted slogans in the protest that were judged to slander the King. Public criticism of King Abdullah II is a violation of the penal code. Imagine if a U.S. president were to attempt to pass a law making public criticism of the president illegal. Yet the U.S. is supportive of the Jordanian regime. Protesters continued protests yesterday in spite of the arrests.

Charges against the 12 arrested include, threatening the stability of the regime, illegal gathering, slandering the monarch, and inciting unrest. If convicted the 12 could face up to 10 years in prison.

The arrested protesters admit chanting slogans that urged regime change and that also criticized the king but maintain their statements fell within the bounds of free speech. Not in Jordan apparently.

The demand for regime change is an escalation in demands since before protesters had only asked the regime to reform. They also accused advisers to the monarchy with corruption. The recent demonstration at which these arrests took place was to protest the earlier jailing of six activists jailed last month for slandering the king.

Recently released activists complain of torture and humiliation by security forces after their arrest. One activist said:'Some of us were stripped naked and beaten in front of other detainees,' Jordan's protests so far have been mainly peaceful. For more see this article.