Jordan's Islamists, buoyed by anger over Gaza, seek to shake up parliament in election

Jordan’s main opposition, buoyed by anger over Israel’s war against the Palestinians in Gaza, says that it expects its Islamist candidates to win enough seats in Tuesday’s parliamentary election to challenge the country’s pro-Western stance, a result that could stir up the kingdom’s staid political scene.

The opposition Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, says that its voice is needed in the assembly to help reverse unpopular economic policies, stand up to laws curbing public freedoms and oppose further normalisation with Israel, with which Jordan has a 1994 peace treaty.

“It’s enough that there is a significant bloc that is able to influence public opinion and the general political scene,” said Murad Adaileh, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood and an ideological ally of the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas.

In a country where anti-Israel sentiment runs high, the war in Gaza is expected to help the electoral fortunes of the IAF, which is Jordan’s largest opposition party and has led some of the region’s biggest rallies backing Hamas. Moreover, hundreds took to the streets of Amman to celebrate on Sunday, hours after a gunman from Jordan shot dead three Israeli civilians at a border crossing in the occupied West Bank.

The IAF is only fielding 38 candidates for the 138-seat assembly, so it is unlikely to unseat the tribal, centrist and pro-government deputies who dominate a system in which cities are under-represented, which is where their Islamist and liberal opponents do best.

However, the Islamists, who have angered the authorities with demands to abrogate the peace treaty and end commercial ties with Israel, are urging supporters to go out and vote to show their opposition to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

READ: Any Israel attempt to displace Palestinians to Jordan to be considered ‘declaration of war’: Foreign Ministry

“Today what is happening in Gaza is an existentialist battle and neither the Jordanian or Islamic movement can be bystanders,” Adaileh told Reuters today. “The voice of the Jordanian street was heard and influential.” He said that the Jordanian state needs a strong parliament more than ever, arguing that a vocal IAF parliamentary presence could strengthen Jordan’s ability to navigate, and if necessary stand up to, any pressures it might face from Israel and Western allies.

Adaileh was echoing sentiments by many Jordanians across the political spectrum, who fear Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government seeks a wider war in which Palestinians in the occupied West Bank could be pushed out to Jordan.

The IAF is contesting the election despite its reservations about a voting system that is believed to be biased against it. It is demanding even broader political representation following changes introduced under an electoral law passed in 2022.

“The law is not up to our ambitions but it presents a recipe for gradual political reforms,” explained Adaileh, referring to the law that for the first time directly allocates 41 seats for over 30 licensed and mostly pro-government parties. According to officials, the vote is a milestone in a democratisation process launched by King Abdullah paving the way for political parties to play a bigger role.

The results — due within 48 hours of polling stations closing — are expected to keep parliament in the hands of tribal and pro-government factions which are powerless to make deep changes. Nevertheless, the election could see the Islamists shaking up Jordan’s bland political scene, analysts have said.

“We expect a significant bloc from these elections provided we are left without direct and blatant interference at the ballot box,” Adaileh pointed out, without being drawn into exactly how many seats the IAF expects to capture.

The party, whose slogan is “With Islam we protect the nation”, says that the authorities in Amman have used clan pressure to persuade dozens of IAF candidates to drop out of the race. “This hurts our chances,” confirmed Adaileh.

Politicians and analysts suggest that the vote will test the Islamists’ grassroots support. Most other candidates with limited political agendas have focused their campaigns on economic conditions such as unemployment, public services and inflation.

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