US embassy cable - 03AMMAN3078

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003078 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDAN ELECTION MISCELLANY: END OF WEEK ONE 
 
REF: AMMAN 2559-02 
 
Classified By: DCM Gregory L. Berry for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
This cable provides a wrap-up of election-related stories in 
the run-up to Parliamentary elections on June 17. 
 
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TOUJAN FAISAL'S APPLICATION REJECTED 
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1. (U) At the end of the May 18-20 registration period, 821 
candidates had registered nationwide for the 110 Lower House 
seats to be contested.  In a move that surprised few, the 
Amman governor and the head of the elections committee 
rejected Toujan Faisal's application for participation in the 
Parliamentary elections (see reftel).   The election law 
states that no candidate sentenced to more than a year in 
prison for a non-political crime is eligible to run.  Faisal 
was sentenced by the court to serve one-and-a-half years in 
prison last year for non-political crime.  Even though the 
King eventually pardoned her, her conviction still stands. 
In a public statement, Faisal admitted that she knew she 
would not be granted permission to run, but wanted to force 
the issue publicly.  Faisal has appealed the decision and the 
court is expected to rule within three days. 
 
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MINISTRY OF INTERIOR ACCUSED OF FAVORING CANDIDATES 
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2. (C) The Minister of Interior denied allegations on Jordan 
television (JTV) that his Ministry provided some candidates 
with constituency lists of their districts.  The constituency 
list would allow the candidates to direct their efforts 
towards the heads or leaders of certain key families or 
tribes.  In a three week campaign period, such lists would 
provide those candidates with an advantage over those who 
rely on door to door campaigning.  Nuha Ma'aita, a candidate 
in the third district, raised the issue with Poloff on May 
20.  She told Poloff she did not receive a list, but claimed 
at least one candidate in her district had.  She opined that 
since elections themselves would be much more transparent 
this year, the GOJ was stacking the deck before election day. 
 
 
3. (U)  Poloff has heard some anecdotal stories of the GOJ's 
tight control of the voter I.D. cards.  One candidate 
reported that after the recent death of her father, she had 
to turn in his voter I.D. card before the government would 
issue a death certificate. 
 
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CANDIDATE PROFILES 
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4. (C) Poloff met with Rashed al-Breisha, a former member of 
parliament running in the first district of Amman.  His major 
campaign slogan is "your brother, Attorney Rashed",  and he 
estimates he needs 4,000 to 5,000 votes to win.  The major 
issues concerning his constituents are unemployment, 
corruption, the recent increase in taxes and prices, 
temporary laws and the current cabinet.  He believes the 
Islamic Action Front (IAF) party will win 18-21 seats in the 
next Parliament.  Al-Breisha is the consummate politician and 
told Poloff, "if my constituents require that I attack my 
father, if that is what it takes to win, I will attack my 
father."  To underscore the point, Rashed explained, he feels 
compelled to attack the Jordanian Government and the U.S. to 
compete with the IAF.  He would have preferred holding 
elections around November to allow anti-government and 
anti-US sentiment to subside. 
 
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BANNERS: CAMPAIGNS FOCUSING ON LOCAL ISSUES 
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5. (SBU) In a May 22 drive around Amman covering the second, 
third, and fifth election districts, a snapshot of campaign 
banners--the main vehicle of campaign advertising--suggests 
that local issues, not regional issues are the focus of the 
campaign.  Only one in roughly four banners alluded to 
Palestine, including "Jordan and Palestine are twins" and 
"Support the Intifada".  Several banners focused on economic 
issues or the need for better governance.  Examples include: 
"Freedom, education, and democracy"; "No to nepotism"; and 
"No to bureaucracy, no to corruption."  Some banners offered 
a more esoteric message such as: "Hand in hand, we will stay 
together." 
 
6. (SBU) Poloffs saw only two banners attributed to IAF 
candidates, one with Koranic verses and the message that 
"Islam is the solution", and a second that called for "No 
occupation of Iraq"--the only Iraqi-related banner Poloffs 
saw.  By the end of the first week of campaigning, Polfsn 
noted that the number of banners is far less than what was 
seen during the 1997 elections.  Certain areas, such as 
downtown, which was a hub of election-related activity during 
the 1997 elections, had very few banners. 
 
7. (U) JTV on May 21 began a program to allow candidates to 
meet with some of their constituents to discuss elections 
issues.  The program allows candidates to introduce 
themselves, present their ideas, and answer questions 
directly from constituents.  So far, the program has covered 
Aqaba and Ma'an. 
 
GNEHM