Election Islamist opposition party becomes strongest force in Jordan

According to the official results, the largest opposition party, the Islamic Action Front, received the most votes in the parliamentary elections in Jordan. The political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood secured 31 of the 138 seats in parliament.

This was announced by the Jordanian electoral authority on Wednesday. The party thus tripled its number of MPs, but fell short of a majority.

It is a historic victory for the Islamic Action Front (IAF) and its strongest representation in parliament since the Muslim Brotherhood won a total of 22 of the then 80 parliamentary seats in 1989. The party had ten members in the outgoing parliament.

The parliament in the Kingdom of Jordan, in which 41 seats are reserved for political parties, has only limited powers. As usual, the majority of seats went to tribal leaders, businessmen or ex-military men loyal to the monarchy. It was the first election after a new law was passed to increase the number of seats in parliament, reserve more seats for women and reduce the minimum age for candidates.

The IAF had tried to capitalize on the growing anger of Jordanians over the Gaza war. Around half of the country's population has Palestinian roots.

"We are pleased with these results and the trust that the Jordanian people have placed in us," IAF Secretary General Wael al-Sakka told the AFP news agency.

The party would work to defend the rights of the Palestinians and provide them with "financial and other support" on the path to liberation and the realization of their right to a free state.

Five million people were called to vote in the parliamentary elections on Tuesday. The election took place against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip and frustration over the sluggish economic development in Jordan. Just two days before the election, a Jordanian killed three Israeli security forces at a border post between Jordan and the occupied West Bank.

SDA