US embassy cable - 03AMMAN3039

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003039 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, SOCI, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN CAMPAIGNING AQABA STYLE; INSIGHT INTO 
TRIBAL POLITICS IN IRBID 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm.  Reasons 1.5 (B) and (D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (U) PolOff attended a luncheon in Aqaba on May 15 hosted 
by Dr. Mohammed Badri, a former member of the parliament for 
the Aqaba Governorate and current candidate for the June 17 
parliamentary elections.  The Aqaba governorate is composed 
of one district with two Muslim seats.  Dr. Badri discussed 
his competition, odds of winning the election, and campaign 
strategy.  PolOff also met on May 18 with Mohammed Bataineh, 
a member of one of Irbid's largest tribes, who was thinking 
of running but decided against it. 
 
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WEAK COMPETITION 
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2. (C) Dr. Mohammed Badri is a cardiologist by profession who 
served in the former parliament and is running again in the 
June 17 elections.  Upon PolOff's arrival in Aqaba Dr. Badri 
and his unofficial "campaign manager" were eager to show off 
the location of his "diwan" or campaign headquarters.  The 
headquarters are located on prime Aqaba real estate on a well 
traveled street.  The "diwan" is composed of several Arabic 
style tents where voters can come listen to the candidate and 
discuss with him what he will do for them in parliament and 
to ask favors, such as monetary assistance or for help to 
find employment for themselves or relatives.  Dr. Badri 
explains that although there are 9 candidates competing for 
Aqaba's two seats he considers himself and two others, Ziad 
Shweikh and Bedr Riati, as serious contenders. He casually 
states that Ziad Shweikh will be the other winner because 
Shweikh will buy the election due to his vast wealth.  He 
dismisses Riati, the Islamic Action Front candidate, by 
proudly claiming that half of Riati's tribe is supporting 
him. 
 
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CAMPAIGN STRATEGY 
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3. (U) Dr. Badri believes he will win and explained his 
campaign strategy: focus on his past history of providing 
free medical services and medicines to poor Aqaba residents. 
His campaign slogan incorporates the GOJ's "Jordan First" 
campaign which encourages Jordanians to focus first on 
Jordanian issues and how they can all ensure that Jordan 
remains a stable and viable country in a tumultuous region. 
His main goals once elected will be to fight corruption, 
support economic reform, provide job training to the 
unemployed and support the King and his good relations with 
the United States.  The only political issue in his campaign 
is the Palestinian issue and he supports all efforts that 
will lead to a fair and just solution.  He believes the U.S. 
must play a vital role in this effort and that extremism is 
fueled by Arab frustration over the Palestinian problem. 
 
 
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WINNING VOTERS AND BRINGING THE VOTE HOME 
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4. (U) To garner support and make sure the voters show up at 
the polls on June 17, Dr. Badri lined up a group of 
volunteers whose task is to review voter lists and choose 
those names personally known to them.  They will then visit 
voters at home and urge them to vote for him.  Should they 
want to meet the candidate they can do so at the "diwan" or 
he will visit them personally.  On election day, the 
volunteers are responsible for getting the voters to the 
polls.  Aqaba has 23,475 eligible voters and will have 39 
voting booths.  Dr. Badri will have representatives at each 
of the voting booths.  When asked if he was planning to 
participate in any debates, he responded by saying that the 
people of Aqaba do not want a good speaker, they want action. 
 
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TRIBAL INFIGHTING IRBID STYLE 
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5. (U) During the same week, poloff also met with Mohammed 
Bataineh, member of one of the largest tribes in the northern 
Irbid governorate, who told PolOff he was seriously weighing 
his decision to run for parliament.  He explained how the 
tribe had held an internal election to choose one candidate 
to represent it in the elections.  On the day of the tribal 
election, a group of voters arrived at the voting booth, a 
melee erupted and the ballot box was destroyed resulting in 
the annulment of the elections.  Consequently, three to four 
candidates decided to run splitting the tribal vote.  In the 
end, Bataineh decided not to run since splitting the vote 
among the tribal members diminished his chances of winning 
the election. 
 
COMMENT 
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6. (C) Jordanian politics historically have centered around 
the "tribal" system in the absence of political parties.  Our 
recent visits to Aqaba and Irbid indicate that tribal 
influences remain powerful--though hardly simple or 
monolithic. 
GNEHM