Islamist Female Runs for Election against Party’s Boycott

Abdul Nasser Zou’bi – In a first announcement independent of the Muslim Brotherhood movement and its political wing, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), a female Jordanian lawyer, Siham Bani Mustafa, announced her intention to run as candidate for the upcoming Parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 9th.

Bani Mustafa, who is a member of the IAF, said in statements to ‘Ammon News’ that she decided to run for elections after receiving confident support from members of her tribe and Jerash residents.

The Islamist lawyer said that relatives and residents in her hometown, Jerash, find that Bani Mustafa has a good opportunity to win in the elections especially after the recently endorsed amended electoral law increased the women’s quota in the Lower House of Parliament.

It is noted that Bani Mustafa had run for Parliament in previous elections and received wide support from her tribe and Jerash governorate residents.

Bani Mustafa’s announcement to run for elections independently is the first such announcement made by any male or female member of the Islamist movement.

The Islamist movement in Jordan, consisting of both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Action Front, Jordan’s largest opposition political party, have repeatedly stressed in the past week that it will not retract from its decision to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections, citing a need to introduce further reforms to the electoral law and calling for postponement of the elections. By Banan Malkawi from Ammon Arabic.

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