According to the poll, the highest voter turnout is likely to be in the northeastern governorate of Mafraq, where 63 per cent of respondents said they would definitely vote, compared to 34 per cent who said they would definitely not participate.
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This appeared to confirm reports by independent observers who anticipated apathy from many voters with minimal confidence in a parliament dominated by pro-government tribal deputies.
An education ministry statement said schools used as polling stations would remain closed on Wednesday and Thursday “to complete the electoral process”. No major incidents were reported in tribal areas where clan fights can occur when results are released.
“We want to prove that the [Muslim Brotherhood] still has a popular presence among Jordanians”, said Ali Abu al-Sukkar, the Front’s deputy head. But the vote is expected to show the resilience of Islamists in the face of heavy state restrictions, Western diplomats and analysts said. “Parliament doesn’t act like the people’s representatives anymore, because it doesn’t have the power to”, she said. “But. the challenges we face require a courageous stance”, said Sheikh Hamza Mansour, a prominent Muslim Brotherhood figure.
Other opposition groups have also boycotted elections.
In Jordan, King Abdullah II can appoint and sack military and intelligence chiefs, senior judges and members of parliament’s upper house without government approval. The protests fell short of demanding the overthrow of the monarchy.
In an IRI poll in April, 87 percent of 1,000 respondents said the outgoing parliament didn’t accomplish anything worthwhile and more than half said they were somewhat or very unlikely to vote.
Mohammad al-Zayoud, IAF Secretary General, told Asharq Al Awsat newspaper that the decision concerning the Brotherhood’s political branch partaking in the elections came only after adopting an all-inclusive strategy to protect Jordan from harm’s way.
Zarqa is the third most populated governorate in the Kingdom, with 1.364 million, after Amman and Irbid respectively. Now, the election will test the front’s grassroots support.
The IAF said the group expects to win at least one-fourth of the seats and plans to serve as a vocal opposition.
Under the new rules, the country is divided into 23 districts, and voters choose candidates from competing lists in their district.
That passivity has allowed successive governments to enact draconian temporary laws restricting public freedoms and to pass unpopular austerity measures urged by the International Monetary Fund, said Mansour.
The numbers rose significantly in the last two hours after voting was extended but the turnout is a far cry from the 50 percent-plus figures previous elections have boasted.
Crimson posters advertising the coalition have replaced the green Muslim Brotherhood flags, Koranic verses and slogans espousing jihad that were the hallmark of Jordan’s Islamists.
The comeback of Jordan’s best organised opposition has left secular rivals fearing the revival of Islamism in a contest where national politics has taken a back seat. In all, 1,252 candidates are running on 226 lists.
The Brotherhood has suffered setbacks in the region and in Jordan in recent years, in part because of a backlash of various governments to the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.
Others see the election as unjust or meaningless, given rules that ensure Jordanian cities will be under-represented.
The poll, conducted by the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS), found that 39 per cent of Jordanians surveyed said that they would not vote, while 11 per cent said they might.
Officials dismissed claims by some global observers that voters are growing apathetic, disillusioned by a parliament unable to challenge governments picked by the king.
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Electoral participation was found to be higher among opinion leaders, 72 per cent of whom said they planned to vote, while 13 per cent said they would not take part.
