Opposition boycotts clouds Jordan general election

Jordanians go the polls on Wednesday, but a opposition boycott is expected to produce a Parliament that is unlikely to bring real reform, leaving the country in political uncertainty. Jordan has high hopes for the election, seeking to turn it into the pivot of a reform process aimed at fending off protests inspired by Arab Spring revolts that have toppled four regimes. But a boycott by the powerful Brotherhood and other opposition groups such as the National Reform Front of former premier and intelligence chief Ahmad Obeidat cast a long shadow over the process. “Previous Parliaments have proven their incapability of introducing reform and change. The coming Parliament is no exception. It could be the worst,” Zaki Bani Rsheid, deputy leader of the Brotherhood, told AFP. “Many people will not vote and the political scene will be more frustrating. Any hope of establishing real political life as a foundation for parliamentary governments is illusory.” Tribal leaders, pro-regime figures and independent businessmen are expected to sweep the election. The boycott is in protest at constituency boundaries that they call unfair, and at the failure to move towards a constitutional monarchy with an elected premier rather than one named by the king. “We do not seek the overthrow of the regime. We want to reform the regime. Our boycott was the right decision because a Parliament or government that is imposed on people is illegitimate. A comprehensive national dialogue is the solution,” Bani Rsheid said. According to the constitution, elections are supposed to take place every four years, but Jordan also held early polls in 2010 after the king dissolved Parliament. The Brotherhood boycotted those polls also, in protest at constituency boundaries which they say over-represent loyalist rural areas at the expense of urban areas. “We hoped to see elections under a national accord that would produce powerful MPs and put reform on the right track. But that is not the case,” analyst Oraib Rintawi, who runs the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies, told AFP.