King urges opposition to seek election

AMMAN — King Abdullah II called Tuesday on Jordan’s fragmented opposition to organize to run for upcoming elections, an implied rebuke to groups that have opposed his parliament-driven reform program in favour of a boycott and street protests.

According to the king’s roadmap, elections will be held Jan. 23 for a parliament that will then choose the prime minister. It used to be the king’s prerogative to appoint a premier.

The plan is aimed at forestalling Arab Spring-style uprisings that have toppled regimes elsewhere in the region. Jordan has weathered 22 months of street protests calling for a wider public say in politics, but the protests have been small and mild compared to mass uprisings elsewhere in the region.

“If you want to change Jordan for the better, there is a chance, and that chance is through the upcoming elections. There is a way, and that way is through the next parliament,” the king said in a speech to prominent politicians and businessmen.

The powerful Islamist opposition is boycotting the polls, saying that the election system — allocating half the seats to districts, half to party lists — gives too much weight to traditional tribally based conservatives who dominate local politics and are loyal to the monarchy.

Government officials argue that Jordan’s system is used by many countries, and that the Islamists’ preferred all-party list system would inflate their numbers.

Decades-old restrictions on political parties were lifted in the 1990s, creating a field of 23 blocs. Few in the opposition oppose the monarchy outright, but many want the king to devolve power to parliament..