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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Loyalists Sweep to Power in Jordan Poll Results |
| 2013-01-29 |
| [An Nahar] The final results on Monday for Jordan's general election held last week saw tribal leaders, pro-regime loyalists and independent businessmen sweep to power after a boycott by the Moslem Brüderbund. "The Independent Election Commission board has approved the parliamentary election's preliminary results, officially endorsing them as the final results," the IEC said. "Twenty sub-committees have examined and double-checked the results, completing their work on Sunday night." In the face of opposition charges of vote-buying, IEC head Abdul Ilah Khatib acknowledged the election held last Wednesday was "not completely free of some violations and problems." "Elections cannot be perfect and we hope to learn from this experience and improve on it," Khatib told a news conference. "But generally Jordanians have accepted the voting measures and exercised their right." King Abdullah has vowed to pursue democratic reforms after the vote and to reach out to groups like the Brotherhood. "I think the easiest part... is behind us. Today the challenge in creating this parliament is trying to create parties with political party platforms," he said on Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Scoffing at the official turnout figure and alleging vote buying, Islamists have said the king's plans for a parliamentary government fall far short of true democratic change and insist he should have no say in naming a premier. |
| Posted by:Fred |