US embassy cable - 05AMMAN8568

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 008568 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, KMPI, JO 
SUBJECT: POLITICAL PARTIES IN JORDAN: NOT YET READY FOR 
PRIME TIME 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 7979 
     B. AMMAN 6898 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) With the exception of the Islamic Action Front, 
political parties in Jordan are poorly developed and suffer 
from a lack of both resources and members.  They are often 
driven by personal ambitions, rather than national interests; 
most are hampered by internal problems.  Party leaders will 
have to abandon old ways and take advantage of new 
opportunities - including an expected new political parties 
law - if their organizations are to play a role in Jordan's 
political development as envisioned by the King.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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BACKGROUND 
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2.  (U) Since the late King Hussein legalized political 
parties in 1992, the number of officially recognized parties 
in Jordan has grown to 33.  These parties can roughly be 
divided into four broad groups:  Islamist, leftist, Arab 
nationalist, and pro-government.  The influential Muslim 
Brotherhood, registered as a charity and social organization, 
operates through its political arm as the Islamic Action 
Front (IAF).  All other parties are small, disorganized, and 
have a support base confined to Amman or a specific regional 
locale.  Aside from the IAF, the largest political group is 
the centrist National Constitutional Party (NCP), which has a 
little over 800 official members.  (NOTE: The Speaker of the 
Chamber of Deputies, Abdul Hadi Majali, is the NCP's General 
Secretary.  END NOTE.)  The next largest, with about 600 
 
SIPDIS 
members and one representative in parliament, is the 
Democratic Party of the Left.  Of the seven blocs of MPs in 
the current lower house of parliament, only three have any 
ties to political parties. 
 
3.  (C) King Abdullah has publicly stated on several 
occasions that he would like to see "vibrant" political 
parties in Jordan.  He believes that the current 
proliferation of small, weak parties is a detriment to 
political development, and has accordingly challenged parties 
with similar ideologies to merge together.  The National 
Agenda for reform (ref A), whose release is expected in early 
November, will reportedly contain recommendations for a new 
political parties law designed to strengthen parties and 
promote their consolidation (ref B).  Moreover, the Agenda's 
recommendations for electoral reform would raise the profile 
of parties by calling for the election of some MPs through 
votes cast for "national lists" of candidates submitted by 
political parties (or independent groups).  In this context, 
poloff has spent the last few months meeting with different 
party leaders, as well as with analysts and others familiar 
with party politics, to examine the challenges surrounding 
political party development. 
 
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INTERNAL DYNAMICS 
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4.  (C) While leaders of political parties often cite 
external factors for the relative impotence of their 
organizations, part of the blame stems from internal 
dysfunctions.  One such problem is that many parties are 
dominated by a single individual or small clique.  Party 
members often join because of their close affiliation with or 
allegiance to a party leader - sometimes stemming from 
tribalism - and are content to play a very passive role. 
Decision-making within most parties is a top-down process 
that reflects the views of senior party figures only.  As a 
result, party agendas are commonly driven by personal 
ambitions and narrow individual interests, rather than the 
needs and desires of the Jordanian public.  The focus on 
personalities also limits cooperation between parties with 
similar ideologies.  For example, eleven centrist parties 
formed a coalition, dubbed the Jordanian National Movement, 
in October 2004 in an effort to pursue jointly common 
objectives.  Less than four months later, however, one of the 
larger parties (Al-Ahed) had withdrawn, while another party 
(Al-Rissala) had been suspended.  Strong internal 
disagreements continue to plague the remaining coalition 
members, who have accomplished little of note beyond issuing 
a few joint public statements. 
 
5.  (C) The lack of broad-based participation within parties 
has significantly hampered their development of national 
political platforms.  For example, each of the party leaders 
poloff met with confessed, when asked, that his group had no 
agreed written program of proposals; most had only statements 
of vague general principles.  Even the IAF, which represents 
the only strong, organized political force in Jordan, has 
traditionally failed to present policy positions on many 
national issues or real programs for governance.  (NOTE: 
Perhaps in response to the National Agenda, the IAF is 
attempting to address this shortcoming by issuing its own 
agenda, entitled "An Islamic Program for National Reform," 
reported septel.  END NOTE.)  In those few cases where 
parties are trying to form concrete ideas on issues of 
national concern, they generally lack the outreach skills 
needed to engage the public and to attract voters to their 
ideas. 
 
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EXTERNAL CHALLENGES 
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6.  (C) In addition to their own internal problems, most 
political parties face a number of external obstacles.  These 
include negative public perceptions, lingering fears of 
government harassment, tribalism and lack of financial 
resources.  In a public opinion poll released by Jordan 
University's Center for Strategic Studies in October 2004, 
roughly 90% of respondents surveyed said they did not think 
that existing political parties were capable of representing 
their political, social and economic aspirations.  Another 
poll conducted in July 2005 by the Jordan Center for Social 
Research found that political parties were the least trusted 
of ten national institutions/organizations presented to 
respondents.  The same poll similarly showed that only 16.7% 
of respondents believed that political party leaders were 
"important" in Jordan, while 37% expressed a preference for a 
one-party system, rather than multiple political parties. 
 
 
7.  (C) Despite the King's public embrace of political 
parties, some Jordanians still fear possible government 
retribution against them - or their families - if they become 
too active in party politics.  Older Jordanians well remember 
how the government imprisoned political activists in the 
past, as well as the 35-year (1957-1992) prohibition against 
parties.  Many remain concerned that the days of security 
service pressure on activists might return.  Rumors, whether 
true or not, of current activists being harassed by the 
intelligence apparatus do nothing to dispel this concern; 
neither do legal restrictions against party activities on 
university campuses and elsewhere. 
 
8.  (C) Tribalism, which pervades political discourse in much 
of Jordan, further constrains the growth and effectiveness of 
parties.  Especially in conservative rural areas, some 
Jordanians will not join a political party unless sanctioned 
by their tribal leaders.  Likewise, strong tribal loyalties 
may prevent Jordanians from voting for a candidate in an 
election from outside their tribe even if that candidate 
closely represents their political beliefs (ref A).  (NOTE: 
Jordan has historically lacked a strong civic education 
program in its schools to counter these traditional 
attitudes, though USG-funded programs administered by USAID 
and Public Affairs at Post are working to change this.  END 
NOTE.) 
 
9.  (C) Money, of course, poses another challenge.  With no 
support from the government and a ban on the acceptance of 
foreign funds, political parties (apart from the IAF) have to 
rely solely on donations from their members - most of whom 
have little money to spare - in order to operate.  Party 
activists who are generating good program ideas, including 
public outreach campaigns, usually are unable to implement 
them due to a lack of financial resources.  The limited funds 
that are available within a party often come from a handful 
of individuals with deep pockets, who use their financial 
leverage to maintain control over the parties' agendas. 
 
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WORKING TOWARD THE FUTURE 
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10.  (C) Confronted with these obstacles, it will be a 
challenge to encourage the development of moderate, effective 
political party life in Jordan, as the King seems determined 
to do.  Parties will need to work hard to cast off their 
negative public image and attract more members if they are to 
convince Jordanians that they are a real force in the 
country's political landscape.  Parties may have an 
opportunity to strengthen themselves if a new political 
parties law, as recommended by the National Agenda (ref B), 
is adopted.  Continued public statements by the GOJ and the 
King affirming the role of parties, combined with movement on 
overall political reform, may help by lessening the lingering 
stigma against political activity.  The National Democratic 
Institute (NDI) is doing good work in this area, through a 
MEPI-funded program of training and strategic planning 
workshops aimed at providing party activists with skills and 
resources to develop platforms, expand their support bases, 
and conduct effective constituency outreach.  Post is also 
designing a special International Visitor program with Public 
Affairs Office PASA funds to expose young, promising party 
members to the workings of political parties in the U.S. 
HALE