US embassy cable - 03AMMAN2529

S E C R E T AMMAN 002529 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS SET FOR JUNE 17; 
ISLAMIC ACTION FRONT ANNOUNCES IT WILL RUN 
 
REF: (A) AMMAN 2402 (B) AMMAN 2504 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm.  Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1. (S) In a conversation with the Ambassador on April 25, 
King Abdullah confirmed that Jordan will hold Parliamentary 
elections on June 17, as PM Ali Abul Ragheb had publicly 
affirmed a week earlier (ref A).  The King told the 
Ambassador that although some voices had been advising him to 
delay the elections once again until the autumn, he was 
committed to the June 17 date.  The King noted that GID 
Director Sa'ad Kheir has been strongly supportive of the 
decision to go ahead with the elections, evaluating that the 
U.S.'s swift and decisive victory in Iraq has left the 
Jordanian political opposition "off balance" and has 
increased the odds that pro-government candidates will fare 
well if elections are held sooner rather than later. 
 
2. (SBU) Subsequent to the Ambassador's conversation with the 
King, the Islamic Action Front (IAF) -- the political wing of 
the Muslim Brotherhood and Jordan's only real opposition 
political party -- announced April 25 that it had decided to 
end its 1997 boycott of parliamentary elections.  In an 
emergency meeting on April 25, all 120 members of the IAF's 
Shura Council voted that the Party should participate in the 
June elections.  IAF Shura Council leader Abdul Latif 
Arabiyat told the Jordan Times that the party decided to 
review its position on participating in the elections because 
of political developments and "the dangers facing the entire 
region."  He added "we hope our decision to rescind the 
boycott will be appreciated and looked at positively by the 
other side (i.e. the GOJ)."  On April 27, the Muslim 
Brotherhood's 50-member Shura council echoed the IAF's 
decision by announcing in a statement that the MB had also 
endorsed participation in the June 17 elections. 
 
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Comment 
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3. (C) The King's thinking on elections clearly appears to 
have solidified over the past couple of weeks as the Iraq 
crisis has subsided.  His decision to hold to the June 17 
electoral date -- only a few days prior to the just-announced 
convening of a special session of the World Economic Forum in 
Jordan (ref B) -- indicates  confidence that changed 
circumstances in the region will enable both elections and 
the WEF meeting to take place and highlight Jordan's 
moderate, pro-reform positions. 
GNEHM