The Islamic Action Front (IAF) has made significant gains in Jordan’s parliamentary elections, as preliminary results on Wednesday showed the largest opposition party winning 32 seats so far, reports Middle East Eye.
Jordanians voted on Tuesday in the first general election conducted under a new electoral law designed to allow political parties to play a bigger role in the 138-seat parliament that has long been dominated by tribal and pro-government factions.
The IAF, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, won up to a fifth of the seats under the 2022 electoral law, which for the first time allocated 41 seats for parties out of 138.
The revamped law is meant to moderate the tribal hold on power and bolster political parties. Parliament, however, will remain in the hands of tribal, centrist and pro-government members.
Preliminary figures showed the Islamic Action Front winning 18 seats on the party list, after half a million votes were counted, and 14 seats on local lists, including in tribal regions.
According to the MEE report, IAF officials said that its local lists are ahead in many governorates, most notably the capital Amman, where it said it won all the quota seats.
