Jordan vote win tests Brotherhood popularity: Analysts

By Helmi al-Asmar

AMMAN, Jordan

The solid performance of a Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition in Jordan’s local elections could presage a new lease on life for the embattled group, experts say.

In local and provincial polls held Wednesday, the National Alliance for Reform, led by the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, won 25 of the 48 provincial council seats it contested.

The alliance also won five out of the Amman Municipality’s 12 seats, and won majorities in the local councils of three of Jordan’s largest municipalities, including the industrial city of Zarqa.

The Brotherhood-linked coalition also grabbed 41 local council seats out of 88 candidates fielded.

Some 31.7 percent of eligible voters turned out for the vote, which was held under a new "decentralization law" that the government says aims to help devolve some powers to larger cities and underdeveloped rural regions.

"The Islamist victory reflects the strength and unity of the Brotherhood organization," Hasan Haniyeh, an expert in the affairs of Islamist groups, told Anadolu Agency.

"Everyone knows that the Brotherhood is the largest and best-organized political force in Jordan," he said.

In 2015, the Jordanian government declared the Brotherhood illegal and gave the license to a splinter Brotherhood group.

The move came as the main Muslim Brotherhood group was under a harsh security crackdown in Egypt following the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the country's first freely elected president and a Brotherhood leader, in a 2013 military coup.

Last year, a Brotherhood-led coalition won 15 seats in Jordan's parliamentary election after the group boycotted the vote in 2013 to protest against electoral laws.

'Reciprocatory messages'

Experts believe that the vote has reflected "reciprocatory messages" between Islamists and the authorities.

"Both sides have sent messages, but without making strategic changes in their relationship," Badr al-Madi, a professor of political science, said.

He said the government wants the Islamists to "reflect the state's balanced views" regarding different issues.

In a rare praise of the government, the Brotherhood-linked coalition described the vote as "a remarkable national day during which the Jordanians drew an honorable tableau for democracy".

"There are internal, regional and international developments that require Jordan to work to unify the home front for the sake of maintaining the country's stability," al-Madi said.

He added that "the government wants the Islamists to highlight Jordanian example of dealing with developments".

Haniyeh, however, ruled out that the Islamists' participation in the vote was an attempt by the government to integrate the Brotherhood in the political process in the kingdom.

"This is only an attempt to give legitimacy to the election by allowing [Islamists] to participate," he said.