Jordan (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Parliamentary Election --- But What Does It Mean?
Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 14:58 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Live, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 
Election queue in Jordan on Wednesday (Photo: Khalil Mazraawi/AFP)
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1530 GMT: Jordan. Opposition candidates have won a significant minority of the seats in Parliamentary elections, despite a boycott by some oppositon groups.
Initial results released by the Independent Electoral Commission had 18 opposition Islamists winning seats in the 150-seat Parliament. About a dozen leftists affiliated with pan-Arab nationalist groups, who are vocal critics of the Government. Fourteen victors from a centrist party are expected to lean toward the opposition rather than the Government in the legislature.
While supporters of King Abdullah claimed the majority of the seats, their vote total was far short of that in 2010.