Why Jordan’s Islamists are boycotting elections
Some are calling for a boycott of the upcoming Jordanian parliamentary elections in protest against anticipated manipulation.
Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front, seems to be heading toward a boycott of the parliamentary elections slated for Nov. 10, amid a clampdown on public freedoms in the kingdom.
Islamists are also concerned that government intervention in the upcoming elections will affect the integrity of the electoral race.
This comes against the background of growing tensions between Islamists and the Jordanian authorities after the Court of Cassation dissolved July 15 the Muslim Brotherhood’s branch in Jordan. This was followed by an arrest campaign of Brotherhood members inside the kingdom’s Teachers Syndicate whose activity was suspended in August.
The spokesman for the Islamic Action Front, Jordan’s largest opposition party, Thabet Assaf, told Al-Monitor, “Many reasons push us to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections. This is mainly due to the general political conditions in the country, including recurrent attacks on unions, such as the Teachers Syndicate, and the successive crises such as the marginalization of the parliament,” in reference to passing a controversial gas deal with Israel without submitting for parliament approval.
