AMMAN — From a podium at an Amman street rally, the leader of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood vowed that soon the country would become a “state in the Muslim Caliphate,” bringing cheers of “God is Great” from the crowd of bearded, Islamist supporters. The Brotherhood, the top opposition group in Jordan, usually avoids such bold strokes and insists on its loyalty to the king. But the speech last week by Hammam Saeed points to how the heat is turning up in the country's simmering political confrontations as Jordan holds parliamentary elections Wednesday that the government touts as a milestone in a gradual process of bringing greater democracy. King Abdullah is trying to control the pace of change, ceding enough of his absolute powers to parliament in hopes of forestalling any Arab Spring-style uprisings like the ones that toppled autocratic leaders in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Tunisia and devolved into a bloody civil war in Syria. But the Brotherhood and others in the opposition say his moves do not go far or fast enough to end his monopoly on power. “The elections are a theatrical comedy, which we will not take part in,” said Zaki Bani Irsheid of the Islamic Action Front, the Brotherhood's political party. “It is part of a royal gimmick to buy time and block any moves toward real and genuine reforms.” The Brotherhood is boycotting the vote, as are four smaller parties, including communists and Arab nationalists. But the Islamists' frustration is growing because they haven't been able to rally a large sector of the public to their side. Though there is anger over the economy, rising prices and corruption, many Jordanians also distrust the Brotherhood, eyeing its rise in Egypt and fearing it could grab power in Jordan and throw it into instability. The protest Friday at which Saeed spoke was far smaller than expected, numbering only just over 1,000, despite the Brotherhood's boasts it would bring out tens of thousands to show the people's rejection of the reform program. The government says the measured pace of reform aims to acclimatize Jordan to democracy. Constitutional reforms made last year by King Abdullah start to edge the government out from under his total domination, handing more authority to the newly elected parliament. The Chamber of Deputies will now have a freer hand to draw up legislation, a stronger role in monitoring the Cabinet and for the first time lawmakers, not the king, will choose the prime minister. An Independent Electoral Commission was created and tasked with supervising Wednesday's voting, taking over the responsibility for the first time from the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of security forces. Last week, Abdullah signaled that he was ready to relinquish more powers in the future. “The system of ruling in Jordan is evolving ... and the monarchy which my son will inherit will not be the same as the one I inherited,” he told a French magazine. He didn't elaborate, but his comments raised speculation Jordan could eventually move toward a constitutional monarchy, with the king in a more ceremonial role. Government officials said Abdullah wants to ensure an “effective” system of governance in which mature political parties can fill a vacuum to be left by the monarchy stepping back from running daily affairs of the state. The officials insisted on anonymity, saying it was the king's prerogative to announce such plans. Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour cautioned that “change can't happen overnight. It will take a little bit of time.” But he said the process of democratization was “carefully calculated, step-by-step, genuine and irreversible.” “Hard work will kick in a day after the elections, when the new parliament will elect a prime minister for the first time in Jordan's history,” he told reporters. “More laws will be amended as we go through the path we have chosen.” Turnout Wednesday among the 2.3 million registered voters could be a key measure of how much trust or enthusiasm the public feels for the reform program. The commission said 1,425 candidates, including 191 women and about 139 former lawmakers, are vying for seats in the new, 150-member lower house of parliament. — AP
