JORDAN FIRST CAMPAIGN PRESSES AHEAD:

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000237

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2013
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN FIRST CAMPAIGN PRESSES AHEAD:
RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE QUOTAS FOR WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS

REF: AMMAN 6522

Classified By: CDA GREGORY L. BERRY FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The "Jordan First" campaign continues to make
headlines almost daily as the GOJ moves to implement
recommendations put forward in December by the Jordan First
Committee--consisting of 31 political and business leaders.
While some of the initiatives are straightforward,
others--particularly the introduction of quotas for women in
Parliament--have proven to be controversial. The Islamic
Action Front (IAF) and Opposition Parties--those who have
been able to capitalize most on popular pan-Arab issues--have
not surprisingly voiced their opposition to the "Jordan
First" campaign. End Summary.

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RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE SPRING ELECTIONS: KING AGREES
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3. (C) The "Jordan First" committee presented its findings
and recommendations to King Abdullah on December 18 and the
GOJ has moved apace to implement the findings. Prime
Minister Abul Ragheb on January 8 announced the formation of
five new committees that will be charged with implementing
the recommendations of the original committee: the
Constitutional Court Committee, the Political Parties
Committee, the Women's Parliamentary Quota Committee, the
Anti-Corruption Committee, and the Professional Associations
and Civil Society Institutions Committee.


4. (C) The committee's specific recommendations included:
quotas for women in parliament, the creation of a
constitutional court, school curricula reform, and amending
the political parties law to strengthen the political party
system. The committee also recommended that elections be
held this spring, and idea the King subsequently reaffirmed.
The focus of the five newly-formed committees suggest that
the government's attention will mostly be on political and
judicial reform.

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QUOTAS FOR WOMEN ALSO INCLUDED
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5. (C) The most controversial of the recommendations--and one
the King seemed committed to--is the adoption of temporary
quotas for women in parliament. The quota issue has been
controversial even among politically-active women who would
most benefit. In discussions with several women who had
recently returned from the US after participating in the IV
program "Women as Political Leaders: US Elections and
Political Campaigns", Poloff found that two of the five
voiced opposition to the quotas. One argued that the
IAF--who she opined did not represent the interests of
women--would be able to capitalize on the quotas because of
their effective campaign machinery and might win a majority
of the women-quota seats with their own female candidates.
Those women who approved of the quota emphasized that it
would be a temporary measure, to allow women a toehold in the
lower (i.e. elected) house of Parliament. Some also suggest
that representation for women would help moderate the IAF, as
well as Jordanian political life as a whole. Both proponents
and opponents of a quota system stress that training for
women in Parliament will be vital, since the professionalism
that they show will help determine opportunities for women
candidates in the future.


6. (C) The GOJ has yet to define how the quotas will be
enforced, but there is almost a universal assumption that
there will be a mechanism in place by the Spring elections.
The issue of women quotas is likely to be particularly
controversial among the more traditional tribal elements.
Poloff talked to conservative East Banker Mahmoud Kharabsheh,
who, as a "Jordan First" committee member, was the lone vote
against establishing quotas. Kharabsheh argued that the
quotas for women were illegal from a constitutional
perspective (though there are already quotas in place for
some minorities, such as Circassians),and that the current
law already allowed for women to be elected (though under the
current electoral law, only one woman has ever been popularly
elected).

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IAF AND OPPOSITION NOT SOLD
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7. (C) The IAF has publicly criticized the campaign. An
article in As-Sabeel, the IAF mouthpiece, accused the "Jordan
First" campaign of contradicting the sections of the
constitution that stipulate the religion of the state as
Islam and that Jordan is a part of the Arab nation. The IAF
also claimed that the campaign was designed to restrict the
Islamic movement and political parties, and to undermine the
(political) role of professional unions.


8. (C) The IAF generates much of its popular support by
embracing popular pan-Arab issues. They have been able to
capitalize on "anti-normalization" issues and will most
likely be some of the loudest voices of dissent should there
be any military action against Iraq. There is no incentive
for the IAF to shift the debate to internal issues in Jordan
while regional issues have the ire and attention of most of
their constituency.


9. (C) The Opposition Parties Higher Coordination
Committee--made up of 13 parties (including the IAF) with
disparate agendas--declined a GOJ-invitation to participate
on the committee that will oversee political parties. The
spokesperson for the opposition parties publicly argued that
political reform should wait until after parliamentary
elections, when new laws would not be relegated to temporary
law status.


10. (C) The GOJ has begun to push back against the criticism.
Minister of State for Political Affairs and Minister of
Information Mohammad Adwan voiced his criticism of the
opposition parties' stance in the Jordan Times on January 9:
"They prefer to stay on the sidelines of the scene
specializing in criticizing without helping the different
segments of society and participating in the constructive
building of a strong Jordan." A Jordan Times editorial the
same day opined that the opposition parties' decision not to
participate was, "at the least disappointing, if not utterly
irresponsible."

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COMMENT
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11. (C) The GOJ is pursuing the "Jordan First" campaign with
increasing vigor as the expected US conflict with Iraq draws
nearer and the Israeli-Palestinian crisis deepens. There is
still some skepticism in Jordanian society that "Jordan
First" is merely an amalgam of empty slogans that will effect
little change. Whether it will achieve its goal of forging a
national identity and re-focusing the populace on internal
issues is unclear, but it has been the impetus for a
commitment to Spring elections and could bring some welcome
reforms in the political and judicial sectors.
BERRY