JORDANIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS SET FOR JUNE 17;

S E C R E T AMMAN 002529

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2013
TAGS: PGOV KDEM JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS SET FOR JUNE 17;
ISLAMIC ACTION FRONT ANNOUNCES IT WILL RUN

REF: (A) AMMAN 2402 (B) AMMAN 2504

Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm. Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (S) In a conversation with the Ambassador on April 25,
King Abdullah confirmed that Jordan will hold Parliamentary
elections on June 17, as PM Ali Abul Ragheb had publicly
affirmed a week earlier (ref A). The King told the
Ambassador that although some voices had been advising him to
delay the elections once again until the autumn, he was
committed to the June 17 date. The King noted that GID
Director Sa'ad Kheir has been strongly supportive of the
decision to go ahead with the elections, evaluating that the
U.S.'s swift and decisive victory in Iraq has left the
Jordanian political opposition "off balance" and has
increased the odds that pro-government candidates will fare
well if elections are held sooner rather than later.


2. (SBU) Subsequent to the Ambassador's conversation with the
King, the Islamic Action Front (IAF) -- the political wing of
the Muslim Brotherhood and Jordan's only real opposition
political party -- announced April 25 that it had decided to
end its 1997 boycott of parliamentary elections. In an
emergency meeting on April 25, all 120 members of the IAF's
Shura Council voted that the Party should participate in the
June elections. IAF Shura Council leader Abdul Latif
Arabiyat told the Jordan Times that the party decided to
review its position on participating in the elections because
of political developments and "the dangers facing the entire
region." He added "we hope our decision to rescind the
boycott will be appreciated and looked at positively by the
other side (i.e. the GOJ)." On April 27, the Muslim
Brotherhood's 50-member Shura council echoed the IAF's
decision by announcing in a statement that the MB had also
endorsed participation in the June 17 elections.

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Comment
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3. (C) The King's thinking on elections clearly appears to
have solidified over the past couple of weeks as the Iraq
crisis has subsided. His decision to hold to the June 17
electoral date -- only a few days prior to the just-announced
convening of a special session of the World Economic Forum in
Jordan (ref B) -- indicates confidence that changed
circumstances in the region will enable both elections and
the WEF meeting to take place and highlight Jordan's
moderate, pro-reform positions.
GNEHM