AMMAN — The merger of the Wasat Al-Islami
and Zamzam parties into the
National Coalition was met with mixed reactions
from politicians; some welcomed the move as aligning with the amended political
parties draft law, which favors larger parties with broad membership from
across the governorates, while others did not expect a change in the party’s
agenda, saying the change is only in the name.
اضافة اعلان
Political analyst Hamada Al-Faraaneh told
Jordan
News that he saw the merge as a bold and fundamental step; unprecedented
since the return of partisan and democratic life to Jordan in 1989.
Faraaneh said the move represents a step forward in
Jordan’s political reform, voicing hope that the merge would bring a strong
centrist party to the political arena that can push its way between the
Islamic Action Front (IAF) and the coalition of leftist and nationalist parties, which
are considered the right and left wings, respectively.
Faraaneh noted that the “two parties have a lot in
common”, and that they would not have taken this big step without the agreement
of the two parties’ leaders. He said he hoped that the democratic confrontation
that this coalition will engage in during the upcoming
election cycles,
including municipal and provincial councils, as well as parliamentary elections,
will demonstrate its strength and credibility.
Political activist Mohammad Al-Zawahreh told
Jordan
News that he saw the merger as an attempt to reproduce political Islam to
become more associated with national issues.
While both parties are offshoots of the IAF,
Zawahreh contended that one of the party’s problems was the lack of a national
program; instead “it was frequently affiliated with regional issues and
prioritized regional interests over national interests.”
“I don’t want to see this in the new National
Coalition,” he said.
The merger of the two parties, according to
Zawahreh, demonstrates a rise in the forces of post-political Islam, which in
his view is a step in the right direction. Zamzam has already demonstrated its
ability to present a strong national Islamist approach, which is exactly what
the next political stage requires, he said.
Political analyst
Omar Al-Raddad concurs that the
two “split” parties from the Muslim Brotherhood more than 10 years ago share
many commonalities. The principles and concepts of both parties are similar and
adhere to Islamic principles, but are distant from political action, he said.
“However, this integration might be able to compensate for a flaw in the Muslim
Brotherhood’s political programs,” he added.
Raddad believes that it could be possible for this
National Coalition to have a strong presence in the upcoming parliamentary
elections, especially given Al-Wasat Al-Islami Party’s parliamentary
experience. He also believes that other Islamic parties may join this coalition
to form a partisan force that has never existed before.
According to
Raddad, amendments to the
Parties Law aim to enable parties to reach maturity
through the creation of real political agendas and actions that are neither
purely religious nor opposition. In his
view, state authorities aspire for three major political ideologies;
right-wing, left-wing, and centrist, and the goal is for one of those blocs to
gain a majority in Parliament and form a government; a trend that would encourage
more voters and candidates in the future.
Raddad said one third of the House seats has already
been designated to partisans, which indicates that the number of seats would
eventually increase in the upcoming election cycles. “I expect to see elections
for a full party parliament after three more elections,” he said.
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