AMMAN: Jordan announced Thursday it would hold parliamentary elections on Sept. 20, but the Muslim Brotherhood-backed main opposition party said it had not yet decided whether to take part.
Previously tolerated for decades in Jordan, the Brotherhood’s relations with the authorities have been rocky since the Arab Spring uprisings that shook the region in 2011.
A source in the Islamic Action Front, the Brotherhood’s main political wing in Jordan, told AFP the party “will hold a meeting on Saturday to decide its position” on participating in the poll. The party, which boycotted elections in 2010 and 2013, demands more transparency and reform to an electoral system it says favors tribal candidates.
Although it enjoys strong grassroots support, the Brotherhood has faced increasing pressure from authorities in recent years.
Its second-in-command in Jordan, Zaki Bani Rsheid, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in February last year for criticizing a decision by the UAE to blacklist the organization. He was released in January.
Jordan elections to be held in September
Jordan elections to be held in September
