Jordan’s Islamist opposition party tops parliamentary elections

The Islamic Action Front won 31 out of 138 seats, according to the election commission.

Jordan’s Islamist opposition party has topped the country’s parliamentary elections but fell short of securing a majority, according to official election results.

The Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, won 31 out of 138 seats in the Parliament of Jordan, tripling its representation in the House of Representatives, the country’s election commission announced on Wednesday.

Under Jordan’s constitution, most powers 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.

“The Jordanian people have given us their trust by voting for us. This new phase will increase the burden of responsibility for the party towards the nation and our citizens,” Wael al Saqqa of the IAF told Reuters.

The result is historic for the Islamists and their largest representation since they gained 22 out of the 80 seats in Parliament in 1989.

The IAF had 10 seats in the previous Parliament elected in 2020 and 16 seats in the 2016 legislature.

“The elections reflect the desire for change and those who voted were not necessarily all Islamists but wanting change and had become fed up with the old ways,” said Murad al-Adailah, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood.

A total 1,638,351 people were registered to vote in the elections, an independent election commission chairman said, according to local media reports.

The Islamists, the only effective grassroots opposition, praised the authorities for not meddling in polls.

Al-Adailah told Reuters their win was a “popular referendum” that backs their platform of support for the Palestinian group Hamas, their ideological allies, and their demand to scrap the country’s peace treaty with Israel.

Jordan has attempted to walk a political tightrope during Israel’s assault on Gaza by maintaining diplomatic relations with Israel and even intervening in Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel in April when Jordan shot down missiles as they flew over its territory.