Jordan’s Islamists were stunned when they lost control of one of the kingdom’s largest professional unions for the first time in more than 25 years. On May 4, the Islamists’ list, Injaz ("accomplishment" in Arabic), failed to win a majority of seats in the Engineers Association, while the centrist civil coalition Nu’mou ("Growth") clinched six of the 10 seats on the association's council, including the posts of president and deputy. The Islamists' loss is more than symbolic, perhaps pointing to a shift in Jordanian voters' mindset.
For decades, Islamist candidates have competed against a leftist coalition of nationalists, Baathists and members of the Palestinian Fatah movement for control of major professional unions in Jordan. Since the mid-1990s, the Islamists, associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, had controlled the Engineers Association’s council and most of its branches.
The Engineers Association, established in 1948, has 22 branches across the kingdom. It elected its first council in 1958, and by the end of last year counted 146,460 members, making it the second largest union in Jordan after the Teachers Syndicate. In addition to providing training and various services to its members, the association also plays a political role. For example, its Anti-Normalization Committee, which opposes full diplomatic and economic relations with Israel, is one of the most influential groups in the country, as is its Palestine Committee. These committees frequently stage demonstrations and sit-ins to protest Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories, coordinating activities with other professional unions.
When Jordan banned political parties in 1957 following regional and domestic turmoil, professional associations emerged as key political actors. Parliamentary democracy, with political parties recognized by the state, only resumed in 1989. By that time, professional associations had become so entrenched in political life that newly forming political parties, with the exception of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamic Action Front (IAF), had a tough time luring voters.
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