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The Muslim Brotherhood has campaigned on opposition to the Gaza war, but analysts say it won’t be as decisive a factor in parliamentary elections as high unemployment.
Sept. 10, 2024, 12:31 p.m. ET
Voters went to the polls for a parliamentary election in the Arab kingdom of Jordan on Tuesday, with domestic concerns such as unemployment high on their agenda, although an Islamist party has tried to ride a wave of popular anger about Israel’s war in Gaza to challenge the pro-Western government.
The election was held under a new system introduced in 2022 that aims to promote democratization and increase the role of political parties, while reducing the influence of tribes on national politics.
Under the system, candidates for the 138 seats of the lower house may now run under national parties, rather than as individuals. (Parliament’s upper house as well as key government posts are selected by King Abdullah II.) Results are expected overnight.
The political arm of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, which had boycotted previous elections, used that opportunity to try to win votes, campaigning on a platform of opposition to the Gaza war, and support for an end to cooperation between Jordan and Israel on security and for establishment of a Palestinian state. Many Jordanian citizens are of Palestinian origin, and the country contains the largest proportion of Palestinian exiles anywhere.
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“Gaza has given the Muslim Brotherhood an opportunity to amplify their election campaign and slogans,” said Amer Al Sabaileh, a regional security expert and university professor based in Jordan’s capital, Amman. “They exploit the concept of resistance and the entire war on Gaza to their advantage, even promoting the idea that not voting for them equates to normalization with Israel.”
