POLITICAL PARTIES IN JORDAN: NOT YET READY FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 008568

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2015
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KMPI JO
SUBJECT: POLITICAL PARTIES IN JORDAN: NOT YET READY FOR
PRIME TIME

REF: A. AMMAN 7979

B. AMMAN 6898

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b),(d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) With the exception of the Islamic Action Front,
political parties in Jordan are poorly developed and suffer
from a lack of both resources and members. They are often
driven by personal ambitions, rather than national interests;
most are hampered by internal problems. Party leaders will
have to abandon old ways and take advantage of new
opportunities - including an expected new political parties
law - if their organizations are to play a role in Jordan's
political development as envisioned by the King. END
SUMMARY.

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BACKGROUND
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2. (U) Since the late King Hussein legalized political
parties in 1992, the number of officially recognized parties
in Jordan has grown to 33. These parties can roughly be
divided into four broad groups: Islamist, leftist, Arab
nationalist, and pro-government. The influential Muslim
Brotherhood, registered as a charity and social organization,
operates through its political arm as the Islamic Action
Front (IAF). All other parties are small, disorganized, and
have a support base confined to Amman or a specific regional
locale. Aside from the IAF, the largest political group is
the centrist National Constitutional Party (NCP),which has a
little over 800 official members. (NOTE: The Speaker of the
Chamber of Deputies, Abdul Hadi Majali, is the NCP's General
Secretary. END NOTE.) The next largest, with about 600

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members and one representative in parliament, is the
Democratic Party of the Left. Of the seven blocs of MPs in
the current lower house of parliament, only three have any
ties to political parties.


3. (C) King Abdullah has publicly stated on several
occasions that he would like to see "vibrant" political
parties in Jordan. He believes that the current
proliferation of small, weak parties is a detriment to
political development, and has accordingly challenged parties
with similar ideologies to merge together. The National
Agenda for reform (ref A),whose release is expected in early
November, will reportedly contain recommendations for a new
political parties law designed to strengthen parties and
promote their consolidation (ref B). Moreover, the Agenda's
recommendations for electoral reform would raise the profile
of parties by calling for the election of some MPs through
votes cast for "national lists" of candidates submitted by
political parties (or independent groups). In this context,
poloff has spent the last few months meeting with different
party leaders, as well as with analysts and others familiar
with party politics, to examine the challenges surrounding
political party development.

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INTERNAL DYNAMICS
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4. (C) While leaders of political parties often cite
external factors for the relative impotence of their
organizations, part of the blame stems from internal
dysfunctions. One such problem is that many parties are
dominated by a single individual or small clique. Party
members often join because of their close affiliation with or
allegiance to a party leader - sometimes stemming from
tribalism - and are content to play a very passive role.
Decision-making within most parties is a top-down process
that reflects the views of senior party figures only. As a
result, party agendas are commonly driven by personal
ambitions and narrow individual interests, rather than the
needs and desires of the Jordanian public. The focus on
personalities also limits cooperation between parties with
similar ideologies. For example, eleven centrist parties
formed a coalition, dubbed the Jordanian National Movement,
in October 2004 in an effort to pursue jointly common
objectives. Less than four months later, however, one of the
larger parties (Al-Ahed) had withdrawn, while another party
(Al-Rissala) had been suspended. Strong internal
disagreements continue to plague the remaining coalition
members, who have accomplished little of note beyond issuing
a few joint public statements.


5. (C) The lack of broad-based participation within parties
has significantly hampered their development of national
political platforms. For example, each of the party leaders
poloff met with confessed, when asked, that his group had no
agreed written program of proposals; most had only statements
of vague general principles. Even the IAF, which represents
the only strong, organized political force in Jordan, has
traditionally failed to present policy positions on many
national issues or real programs for governance. (NOTE:
Perhaps in response to the National Agenda, the IAF is
attempting to address this shortcoming by issuing its own
agenda, entitled "An Islamic Program for National Reform,"
reported septel. END NOTE.) In those few cases where
parties are trying to form concrete ideas on issues of
national concern, they generally lack the outreach skills
needed to engage the public and to attract voters to their
ideas.

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EXTERNAL CHALLENGES
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6. (C) In addition to their own internal problems, most
political parties face a number of external obstacles. These
include negative public perceptions, lingering fears of
government harassment, tribalism and lack of financial
resources. In a public opinion poll released by Jordan
University's Center for Strategic Studies in October 2004,
roughly 90% of respondents surveyed said they did not think
that existing political parties were capable of representing
their political, social and economic aspirations. Another
poll conducted in July 2005 by the Jordan Center for Social
Research found that political parties were the least trusted
of ten national institutions/organizations presented to
respondents. The same poll similarly showed that only 16.7%
of respondents believed that political party leaders were
"important" in Jordan, while 37% expressed a preference for a
one-party system, rather than multiple political parties.



7. (C) Despite the King's public embrace of political
parties, some Jordanians still fear possible government
retribution against them - or their families - if they become
too active in party politics. Older Jordanians well remember
how the government imprisoned political activists in the
past, as well as the 35-year (1957-1992) prohibition against
parties. Many remain concerned that the days of security
service pressure on activists might return. Rumors, whether
true or not, of current activists being harassed by the
intelligence apparatus do nothing to dispel this concern;
neither do legal restrictions against party activities on
university campuses and elsewhere.


8. (C) Tribalism, which pervades political discourse in much
of Jordan, further constrains the growth and effectiveness of
parties. Especially in conservative rural areas, some
Jordanians will not join a political party unless sanctioned
by their tribal leaders. Likewise, strong tribal loyalties
may prevent Jordanians from voting for a candidate in an
election from outside their tribe even if that candidate
closely represents their political beliefs (ref A). (NOTE:
Jordan has historically lacked a strong civic education
program in its schools to counter these traditional
attitudes, though USG-funded programs administered by USAID
and Public Affairs at Post are working to change this. END
NOTE.)


9. (C) Money, of course, poses another challenge. With no
support from the government and a ban on the acceptance of
foreign funds, political parties (apart from the IAF) have to
rely solely on donations from their members - most of whom
have little money to spare - in order to operate. Party
activists who are generating good program ideas, including
public outreach campaigns, usually are unable to implement
them due to a lack of financial resources. The limited funds
that are available within a party often come from a handful
of individuals with deep pockets, who use their financial
leverage to maintain control over the parties' agendas.

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WORKING TOWARD THE FUTURE
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10. (C) Confronted with these obstacles, it will be a
challenge to encourage the development of moderate, effective
political party life in Jordan, as the King seems determined
to do. Parties will need to work hard to cast off their
negative public image and attract more members if they are to
convince Jordanians that they are a real force in the
country's political landscape. Parties may have an
opportunity to strengthen themselves if a new political
parties law, as recommended by the National Agenda (ref B),
is adopted. Continued public statements by the GOJ and the
King affirming the role of parties, combined with movement on
overall political reform, may help by lessening the lingering
stigma against political activity. The National Democratic
Institute (NDI) is doing good work in this area, through a
MEPI-funded program of training and strategic planning
workshops aimed at providing party activists with skills and
resources to develop platforms, expand their support bases,
and conduct effective constituency outreach. Post is also
designing a special International Visitor program with Public
Affairs Office PASA funds to expose young, promising party
members to the workings of political parties in the U.S.
HALE