COMPOSITION OF NEW JORDANIAN PARLIAMENT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004246

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2013
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM JO
SUBJECT: COMPOSITION OF NEW JORDANIAN PARLIAMENT,
ALLEGATIONS OF IRREGULARITIES AND POST-ELECTION CLASHES


Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm. Reasons 1.5 (B)&(D).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The new Jordanian Parliament elected June 17 is
better-educated and somewhat younger than its predecessor,
and includes a large number of former ministers, lawyers,
engineers and medical doctors. PolOff has been meeting with
newly elected MPs and political analysts to discuss their
views -- ranging from optimism to cynicism -- about the
elections and the incoming Parliament. Reports of election
irregularities, as well as stories of clashes between
supporters of losing candidates and security forces, have
generated continued public attention to the electoral process
and the upcoming legislative session. End Summary.

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THE NEW PARLIAMENT ) A NEW BREED OR MORE OF THE SAME?
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2. (U) King Abdullah has scheduled a special session of the
newly elected Parliament to convene on July 15, although the
official opening of the regular session will not occur until
the fall. The members of this new Parliament are, overall,
more educated and younger than members of previous
Parliaments. The 110 deputies in the lower house include 10
former ministers, 12 lawyers, 12 medical doctors, 12 retired
army officers, and 12 engineers. Ten of the new MPs hold
PhDs, while ten more have earned Master's degrees and another
21 hold Bachelor's degrees.


3. (C) Despite the improved educational credentials,
political analyst Jamal Refai and new parliamentarian Raed
Qaqish expressed to PolOff concern about the Parliament's
willingness to effect change and to discuss new ideas to
address Jordan's economic and social problems.
Interestingly, PolOff had met with Qaqish a few days prior to
the election and was impressed with his enthusiasm and zeal
for becoming an MP and tackling Jordan's ills. Since the
elections, however, Qaqish had become discouraged and
disappointed at what he described as a group of MPs that is
only interested in the perks of the position and the prestige
associated with it. Although he had made a strong effort to
meet with his counterparts and share his ideas, Qaqish said
he discovered that his innovative agenda faced an uphill
battle in a Parliament where two-thirds of the seats were won
by tribal and pro-government independent figures.


4. (C) Similarly, at a luncheon hosted by the CAO for leading
journalists, participants described the new MPs as an
unfocused group with disparate interests and, with the
notable exception of the Islamic Action Front (IAF),no clear
agenda or goals. They further noted the lack of expertise
needed to deal with complicated legislative issues, and the
shortage of parliamentary resources such as knowledgeable
staffers and research services.


5. (C) On a more positive note, MP and former lower house
speaker Saad Heil Srour told PolCouns that he was pleased
with the youth, education, and energy he has noticed in the
newly elected deputies with whom he has spoken in the last
week. Several &young8 and/or female MPs had impressed him
in particular, and he believed they would bring new life to
the Parliament. Several new, younger and Western-educated
MPs attended the official July 4th celebration and expressed
a desire to support an active reform agenda in Parliament.

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ELECTION IRREGULARITIES OR SOUR GRAPES?
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6. (C) Jordan's three main newspapers reported that as of the
July 2 deadline to contest the results of the June 17 polls,
54 complaints were filed pending review by the newly elected
Parliament. Among the main complaints are allegations of
vote buying by individual candidates, persons voting more
than once by ironing out the star-shaped mark stamped on all
voter ID cards, and voters using ID cards without district
stamps (anyone holding a card without designation of a
district number -- a replacement for a "lost" card -- was
ineligible to vote). Embassy contact Sheikh Hamad Abu Zeid,
running in Amman's fourth district, recounted how two ballot
boxes allegedly appeared at the central election center
stuffed with voter ballots. (Comment: Given that under the
electoral regulations all ballots should have been counted at
polling places in the presence of candidates'
representatives, this should be a fairly easy allegation to
verify or disprove. End comment)


7. (C) Some losing candidates told PolOff that they would not
"waste their time" filing a complaint since the newly elected
Parliament, which is charged with reviewing all such
complaints, has a vested interest in legitimizing the
results. They argued that an independent review committee
should be formed before the next elections in 2007 to give
the electoral process an acceptable level of credibility and
independence.
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POST ELECTION CLASHES
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8. (C) Al Arab al Yawm reported on June 20 that supporters of
unsuccessful candidates had clashed with public security
forces in the area of Na'ur -- between Amman and the Dead Sea
) with crowds firing guns into the air, setting fire to
garbage containers, vehicles and shops, and damaging water
tanks. As a result, the road leading to the Jordan Valley
was temporarily closed. (Note: The road closure forced the
motorcade of Secretary Powell, which was driving from the
airport to the World Economic Forum, to divert to an
alternate route.)


9. (C) The Amman Governor imposed a curfew and sought the
assistance of local candidates and community leaders to
restore law and order. Embassy contacts also reported that
the protests and vandalism that occurred in the Na'ur area
were primarily directed at the local Palestinian origin
population. Supporters of a losing tribal candidate
reportedly blamed the Palestinian community for backing the
victorious candidate -- from another tribe with ties to the
South. In the northern governorate of Irbid, protesters
clashed with governorate employees requiring the intervention
of riot police and resulting in the arrest of 20 individuals.
Scant coverage of these events appeared in the press and
Jordan TV has ignored them altogether.

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COMMENT
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10. (C) With the exception of the allegation of two "new"
ballot boxes appearing in one district, we tend to discount
allegations of large-scale voting abuse as sour grapes.
Embassy and other diplomats who observed the polling saw no
evidence of such abuses and, in fact, saw several instances
in which election officials blocked attempts at voting fraud.
Nevertheless, widespread coverage of the allegations may
cause a skeptical public to closely scrutinize the new
Parliament.


11. (C) The post-election clashes are disturbing, but were
caused by local politics and tribal rivalries.
GNEHM