Jordan Starts to Shake by Nicolas Pelham. Dallying with Reform in a Divided Jordan. [The following is the latest from the International Crisis Group (ICG) on Jordan.] Popular Protest in North Africa and the Middle East (IX): Dallying with Reform in a Divided Jordan Middle East Report No. 11812 March 2012 Something is brewing in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is not so much that protests have been spreading since 2011; the country has experienced these before and so far they remain relatively small. The season of Arab uprisings neither engulfed Jordan nor entirely passed it by. In the past, it was relatively easy for the monarchy to play on a fault line that has come to define the Jordanian polity, that separating East Bankers from Palestinian Jordanians.
Today, however, it has become much trickier for the regime to contain the protests by dividing the protesters. The regime has responded in time-honoured fashion. So far, this mix of tactics arguably has worked. There is always the temptation for the regime to wait and to postpone. Egypt Brotherhood Victory Emboldens Jordanian Counterpart. Supporters of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Action Front party attend a rally in Amman February 18, 2011. (photo by REUTERS/Ali Jarekji) Author: Al-Hayat (Pan Arab) Posted June 29, 2012 Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood never expected its mother organization to one day hold the Egyptian presidency.
Summary⎙ Print The Muslim Brotherhood’s recent electoral success in Egypt has emboldened its Jordanian counterpart, writes Tamer al-Smadi. As the Islamist opposition gains steam in Jordan, the government of King Abdullah is looking on warily. Author Tamer al-Smadi Posted June 29, 2012 Translator(s)Sami-Joe Abboud Hundreds of public figures flocked to the Jordanian Brotherhood's headquarters to offer their congratulations after the fortunate turn of events that led to the presidential election victory of the Egyptian Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi.
The Jordanian Brotherhood could not hide its euphoria over its "spiritual authority’s" overwhelming victory. Jordan - smoke, mirrors and election laws. ‘Confusing? That’s the point! The Government has upgraded “Divide and Conquer” to “Confuse and Conquer”’. On June 18, after interminable and at times explosive discussions, Jordan’s Lower House finally agreed on a new electoral law. The response was a mix of boycotts, celebrations, and overwhelming confusion. The law raised the number of seats in Parliament to 140 from 120. Disgruntled objections immediately followed the passage of the law. In Jordan, unlike in many other Parliamentary democracies, electoral districts are represented by multiple seats in Parliament, yet voters are only allowed one vote on the district level.
The way it accomplishes this is by diluting the vote. Taking into account tribal affiliations and extended family loyalties, candidates from organised political parties are easily overwhelmed, and they consequently struggle to have sufficient representation in Parliament. The new electoral law does no such thing. Jordanian MP pulls gun, raises bar for bad parliamentary behavior. Clausewitz said that war is the extension of politics by other means. But Jordanian lawmaker Mohammed Shawabka seems to have gotten the Prussian military strategist's aphorism backwards. Last Thursday, Shawabka heaved his shoe and then pointed a pistol at Mansour Seif-Eddine Murad, an activist-turned-politician, during a televised debate about the violence in Syria. According to The National the two traded insults on Jordanian satellite channel Jo Sat with Murad eventually accusing Shawabka of being an Israeli Mossad agent and a thief.
Violence quickly ensued: "Mr Shawabka first threw his shoe at Mr Murad, who dodged with aplomb, and then pulled a gun. On Monday, the AP reported that Shawabka is being investigated for his role in the altercation. The incident ups the ante on what has already been an exciting year for parliamentary antics.