Jordan's main Islamist politicians regained a major foothold in parliament, partial election results showed today, and they promised vocal opposition to the pro-Western government for the first time in six years.
Islamists, speaking after a parliamentary election yesterday, said they would call for a more critical approach to the United States and Israel and make officials more accountable to popular wishes.
"We will make our voices heard and hold accountable any government that gives away people's rights and becomes a strategic ally of Jews and Americans," said Sheikh Mohammad Abu Faras, a leading hawk who won a seat in Amman.
The partial results announced by the Interior Ministry showed the election preserved a traditional tribal and non-party composition.
Tribal figures and pro-government forces won at least two thirds of the 110-seat assembly under a system which favours tribal constituencies over heavily populated cities.
Prominent Islamist local leaders and clerics who stood in districts in the capital, Amman, all won with large margins. The cities, where support for the Palestinian uprising against Israel is high, are inhabited mostly by Jordanians of Palestinian origin.