AMMAN: Jordan’s leading Islamist opposition party has won 31 out of 138 seats in parliament, according to official election results released on Wednesday.
The Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, tripled its representation in the house after Tuesday’s election and will be the largest single party.
“The Jordanian people have given us their trust by voting for us. This new phase will increase the burden of responsibility for the party toward the nation and our citizens,” party leader Wael Al-Saqqa said.
The Muslim Brotherhood chief in Jordan, Murad Adailah, said: “The elections reflect the desire for change. Those who voted for us were not necessarily all Islamists, but wanting change, and had become fed up with the old ways.”
The Muslim Brotherhood is outlawed in much of the Middle East has been permitted to operate in Jordan since 1946. Islamic Action Front supports Hamas and wants Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel to be scrapped.
Most of the party’s electoral support is in densely populated cities inhabited mostly by Jordanians of Palestinian descent, but the voting system favors more sparsely populated tribal and provincial regions.
Under Jordan’s constitution, most powers still rest with the king, who appoints governments and can dissolve parliament. The assembly can force a Cabinet to resign by a vote of no confidence.
