Jordan: Another Failed Election in the Middle East? (Daragahi)

Borzou Daragahi writes for the Los Angeles Times:

The only suspense surrounding parliamentary elections here and in other Arab countries for many years has been over how many seats the opposition would be allowed to win.

But in Jordanian elections Tuesday, even that question was put to rest beforehand. The main Islamic opposition group and other parties boycotted — not because the vote was rigged against them, but because they say parliament has become pointless.

"There is a conviction that political reform through the elections is useless," said Zaki Bani Arshid, a leader of the Islamic Action Front, the country's main opposition movement.

A total of 763 candidates, including 143 women, vied for 120 seats in Jordan's parliament. They plastered telephone poles with posters and hung banners in squares. Radio and television commentators urged 2.4 million eligible voters to take part in what was officially dubbed a "national wedding." According to the government, 53% of voters cast ballots.

Campaign workers handed out leaflets. Security officials kept watch.

The only thing missing, critics said, was any substantive politics.

A brief flurry of American-promoted reform in the region has subsided. Since the Muslim Brotherhood performed better than expected in 2005 Egyptian elections and Hamas won 2006 elections in the Palestinian territories, international pressure for democratic change has eased. Governments have curtailed press freedoms and shut down civil society groups.

Results of the Jordanian elections were to be announced late Tuesday or Wednesday. But in the absence of party politics, well-known public figures or major issues of contention, the candidates were largely well-to-do and relatively anonymous businessmen looking to improve their standing, or tribal leaders seeking to consolidate power within their own groups.

"They want access, privilege, more of a chance to belong to the political elite, and to buttress their own positions within their own factions," said Radwan Abdullah, a retired political scientist.

Candidates curried favor with voters by playing on tribal or family ties, or promising patronage. They ran on slogans such as "Daughter of the nation" or "Tomorrow, a better life." Some bought votes with cash or gifts.

Turnout was as low as 34% in the cities.

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