On the other hand, leaked reports and information about a second list that consists of more “hawkish” representatives in the Movement signals the dissatisfaction with the declared names, with some political observers expecting a split by well-recognized Islamists who will go to the elections independently.
The declared list supported by the Islamic movement demonstrates the victory of the so-called “doves” or moderates in the MBM against the “hawks” sending a clear message to the policy makers: The Movement is keen to maintain the historic alliance and relationship with the regime regardless of any escalation.
The Islamic Action Front (IAF) party which is the political arm of the MBM decided last week to officially participate in the elections; consequently, the 25-candidate list which emerged was considered by many as a “balloon test” for other parties. This move has granted officials in the movement what they sought.
News reports say that some of the hawkish Islamists who were irritated to be excluded from the candidacy are threatening to either participate independently or to make alliances with other opposition political parties and nationalists.
Earlier, a suggestion led by the “hawks” and in particular adopted by the IAF secretary general Zaki Bani Irsheid, about forming an alliance with other opposition political parties and tribal representatives, has not been decided yet. Other reports say the suggestion was rejected by the MBM in an attempt to settle down their differences with the government and to defuse escalation.
According to the proposed suggestion, the unified list might include another 12-15 candidates from outside the movement which the Islamists might support and sponsor; those will compete for non-Islamist constituencies.
On the ground, the declared names of candidates to officially represent the IAF in the ballot are those who are very familiar to the Jordanian people; they are very experienced politicians from the first rank of the Movement. Some of the suggested names include former parliamentarians Azzam Hneidi and Mousa Hantash, in Amman’s Third Constituency, former IAF secretary general and head of the Shura Council Hamza Mansour along with Mousa Al-Wahsh in Amman’s Second Constituency, Dr. Irhayyel A-Gharaybeh in Amman’s Fifth Constituency, among others. While outside the capital, some of the suggested candidates include Ibrahim Al-Mashouki, Mamdouh Muheisen, and Muhammad Al-Haj in addition to Hayat Al-Massimi in Zarqa. Former speaker of the Lower House and well-reputable figure Dr Abdel Latif Arabiyat will compete for a seat in Salt/Qasaba area. In Irbid, well-recognized Islamists Nabeel Al-Kofahi and Muhammad Al-Bzour will be the official candidates among others.
News reports stated that the Islamists will compete for a seat in the Ajlun area for the first time since no previous Islamists ran for the elections in this region before; the most potential candidate to be supported by MBM in this region is Muhammad Ta’meh Al-Qdah.
Meanwhile, women vie for their share in the Islamists final harvest as well; these female candidates will compete for the six-quota seats allocated within the electoral law for women out of the 110-seat Lower House. Some of these candidates would be Hayat Al-Massimi in Zarqa and Arwa Al-Kilani along with Sajidah Abu-Faris in Amman.
The list of candidates underlines the exclusion of some members of the 14th Lower House whose performance, according to some sources, was not satisfactory, while a very limited number out of them would be supported for another parliamentary mandate. The names most expected to be absent from the Islamists decision makers this time are Zuhair Abul Ragheb, Nidal Al-Abbadi, Dr Adnan Hassouneh and Tayseer Al-Fityani. While the most likely to be absent from the hawks’ ranks are Dr Hammam Saeed, Ahmad Al-Kofahi, Ali Al-Etoum along with Bani Irsheid. News reports say that some of the excluded Islamists are expressing publicly their resentment over their party’s stand. This might lead, according to observers, to internal differences inside the movement.
After all, several informed sources believe that the 25-candidate list is not final since some of the names in some controversial constituencies were not declared yet.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Yousef, spokesman of the Opposition Coordination Committee, said that the opposition political parties decided to adopt a unified program for the parliamentary elections in accordance with a previous decision to coordinate amongst themselves. Yousef declared that whenever it is appropriate, the opposition political parties will coordinate candidacies