Opposition pulls out of Jordan elections

AMMAN, Jordan --Jordan's largest opposition party withdrew from the country's first-ever elections for city mayors Tuesday, marring a vote the government has touted as an important democratic reform.

The move by the Islamic Action Front signaled the party could be breaking away from traditionally cordial relations with the government to boost its position ahead of parliament elections later this year, possibly by capitalizing on popular disenchantment with the state's failure to speed up reforms.

Several hours into voting Tuesday, the Islamic Action Front abruptly announced it was pulling its 90 candidates from the race and accused the government of vote tampering by allowing some military personnel to cast multiple ballots. The party had claimed Monday the state planned to have pro-government voters cast ballots several times, but offered no proof.

"We can no longer take part in this farce and we announce the withdrawal of all our candidates from all governorates," said the party, which is the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement -- a licensed political party, which commands 17 seats in the 110-member parliament.

Tuesday's election was the first time Jordanians were directly choosing their mayors, previously appointed by the king. Jordan's 1.9 million eligible voters were also electing all members of their municipal councils, choosing from 2,325 candidates for the 1,022 seats. Previously, the king appointed half the members.

Abdullah touted the municipal polls as part of democratic reforms. In addition, 20 percent of the council seats were allotted to women, in contrast to the 2003 vote when only five women were selected. Also, the voting age was lowered by one year to 18, to allow greater participation

However, in Amman, voters were electing only half of the capital's 68-member municipal council while the king was still to appoint the other half, along with the mayor. The move seemed to reflect concern over the Islamic Action Front's strong following among the poor in the capital.

The party's leader Hamza Mansour said the group may also boycott parliamentary elections in November. "We wanted to stay out of our commitment for democracy, but we've had enough. This democratic folly has turned into a huge national tragedy," he said.

Islamic Action Front's pullout could be seen to mirror the militant Hamas' confrontation with the Palestinian Authority, said former deputy prime minister Ayman Majali.

"But they don't have that much popular base here, and even if they boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections, they'll be the losers," Majali said.

Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit dismissed the party's pullout as "illegal," but did not comment on the fraud allegations. Government spokesman Nasser Judeh accused the party of trying to "target Jordan's reputation" ahead of the legislative elections.

Unlike Islamist groups in Egypt and Tunisia with a track record of violent confrontation with the authorities, the Islamic Action Front has been a peaceful political force and has practiced charity work through its network of banks, hospitals and schools.

In 1989, it won almost half the parliamentary seats in the first elections that Jordan held in more than 22 years, but soon lost much of its clout because it failed to deliver on pledges to address rampant unemployment and poverty.

Its popularity slipped further when party Cabinet members in 1991 focused on trivial topics such as banning coed sports, alcohol and pushed for women to wear the veil.

The party opposes Jordan's 1994 peace treaty with Israel and Abdullah's close ties with the United States. It also disagrees with the king's economic policy of openness to world markets and global trading blocs -- a threat it regards as Western domination.

Still, the party has remained largely loyal to King Abdullah, who claims ancestry to the revered prophet Muhammad. But it has criticized the establishment and boycotted voting in the past.

In 1995, the party accused the government of vote-rigging in municipal elections after it was overpowered by independent candidates and tribal leaders loyal to the late King Hussein, Abdullah's father.

In 1997, it boycotted general parliamentary elections to protest the "lack of democratic progress" and a then-controversial election law.

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Associated Press reporters Mohammed al-Hadid, Shafika Mattar and Dale Gavlak contributed to this story.