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Friday, October 05, 2012

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Jordan’s king dissolves parliament, sets stage for
polls

* Opposition to march, angry at slow reform

* Muslim Brotherhood calls largest protest since Arab
Spring

AMMAN: Jordan’s king has dissolved parliament,
paving the way for early elections, says the state’s official news
agency.

The royal decree follows Abdullah II’s pledge to
bring in political reforms aimed at avoiding anti-government unrest
in the wake of the Arab Spring. Jordanians have been pressing for a
greater say in how their country is run and demanding corruption be
tackled.

Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood said in July its
political party, the Islamic Action Front, would boycott the polls.
The group has called for the monarch’s powers to be curtailed, and
for an overhaul of the parliamentary system in which the prime
minister is appointed by the king rather than elected. It has said
it would boycott polls until such measures were introduced. King
Abdullah said recently a new parliament would elect a prime minister
early next year.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s main Islamist opposition
is preparing to flex its muscles in a march on Friday that could be
its biggest demonstration since Arab Spring-inspired protests last
year against the slow pace of political reform.

The “Friday
to Rescue the Nation” rally called by the Muslim Brotherhood, the
largest opposition party, in the capital Amman will press for
broader political representation and a more democratic parliament.
But plans by pro-government groups to stage a counter-demonstration
have raised fears of clashes.

“We are talking about a new
phase after 20 months of continued popular protests and
unwillingness to listen to our demands for reform,” Zaki Bani
Rusheid, the deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood, said. Jordan has
had nearly two years of peaceful street protests by Islamists,
tribal figures and leftists, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings,
but they have focused on reforming government and limiting King
Abdullah’s powers rather than ousting him.

Jordan’s
Islamists are highly organised and have been mobilising supporters
by distributing leaflets at mosques. Their main rallies usually
attract tens of thousands of people. “We are calling for real
reforms that restore power to Jordanian people and curb the powers
of those who have seized power and influence for decades,” Bani
Rusheid said. He accused the authorities of creating a climate of
“incitement and fear” to prevent people from other areas turning up
to march, after a backlash in most pro-government media.

Some tribal and leftist groups have said they will join the
march. Pro-government groups, widely suspected of being directed by
the authorities, have said they will rally in the same area.

Loyalists tied to the country’s powerful intelligence
apparatus have been blamed for disrupting past Islamist-led
gatherings and there are fears of clashes on Friday. Bani Rusheid
said any attempt by the security forces to provoke a confrontation
would backfire.

“The inclination to artificially instigate a
confrontation is a gamble with dangerous consequences and no one
would be able to predict its outcome. They have tried in the past to
provoke us and get us to act irresponsibly but all attempts have
failed,” he said. Jordan has tolerated protests in provincial towns
inhabited by native Jordanians from East Bank tribes, who are used
to preferential access to state jobs. Those protests have been
driven largely by concern over dwindling benefits. But the mostly
urban Islamists, with a strong following among Jordanians of
Palestinian origin, are viewed by the political establishment as a
threat. Bani Rusheid has a wide following among poor Jordanians and
has been the focus of vitriol by pro-government hardliners.
agencies

Home | Foreign

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Jordan’s
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