Thursday, Jun 19, 2003
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The victory by allies of King Abdullah II had been expected as Jordan's political culture heavily favours the tribal leaders who owe allegiance to the Hashemite dynasty. The leading Opposition party, the Islamic Action Front, won 18 of Parliament's 110 seats, according to final results posted on the Interior Ministry's web site and read over the state television. Its representation is likely to be boosted by six Front sympathizers or former members who won seats as independents. The Front spokesman, Hamza Mansour, has accused the Government of fraud, saying electoral officers `colluded' with certain candidates. But the Information Minister, Mohammad Affash Adwan, said the allegation was ``baseless because the election process was conducted objectively and impartially. Tribal leaders loyal to the King won 40 seats. Other pro-government politicians, including former legislators and ex-Cabinet ministers, took 22 seats. Supporters of victorious candidates fired bullets in the air in street celebrations that began in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday. Prominent among Front winners was Hayat al-Museimi, the top scoring female candidates in the elections. The law reserves six seats for women. They are awarded to the women who score the six highest returns anywhere. Fifty-four women ran in the polls. ``I'm a representative of the nation, not only women, and my parliamentary agenda is national issues that focus on freedom, economic development, social justice and, foremost, the implementation of Islamic Sharia (law),'' Ms. al-Museimi said in a telephone interview. The Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement, seeks to introduce strict Islamic law, such as veils for women and a ban on alcohol, and the abrogation of Jordan's 1994 peace treaty with Israel. It regards U.S. policy in West Asia as biased toward Israel and bent on controlling Arab oil wealth. While the Front and its allies will command only 22 per cent of the incoming legislature, this will allow a measure of opposition to the Government's moderate policies. AP
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