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Jordan protests begin despite king's election call Jordan protests after king calls early elections
(35 minutes later)
Thousands of people have begun gathering in Jordan's capital Amman amid a large police presence to call for faster political reforms. Thousands of Jordanians have attended a protest demanding political reforms in Amman, hours after King Abdullah called early parliamentary elections.
Demonstrations were called by the Islamic Action Front, the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing in Jordan. The Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, the Islamic Action Front, called for broader political representation and a more democratic parliament.
They are calling for changes to Jordan's constitution. People at the protest chanted: "The people want to reform the regime."
On Thursday, Jordan's head of state King Abdullah dissolved parliament and called early elections, though he did not specify a date. On Thursday evening, the king dissolved parliament and called early elections, though he did not specify a date.
He is facing calls to tackle corruption and introduce wide-ranging reforms. However, he has said he wants polls to be held by the end of the year.
The Islamic Action Front has said it will boycott the elections unless Jordan's political system is overhauled so that the prime minister is elected rather than appointed by the king. Electoral law dispute
'Good natured' The IAF said it expected 50,000 people to take part in the protest outside the capital's al-Husseini mosque after Friday prayers. But the BBC's Wyre Davies put the turnout at 10,000 people, which he said was the biggest protest seen in Jordan for several years.
The Muslim Brotherhood has said it expects 50,000 people to take part in Friday afternoon's protest. Video footage showed protesters chanting slogans and waving flags. The AFP news agency quoted people as shouting: "We demand constitutional reform before the people revolt. The people want to reform the regime."
The BBC's Wyre Davies in Amman said that about 2,000 to 3,000 people had so far gathered, and that the protest was "relatively good-natured".
Pictures published on social media sites showed protesters chanting slogans and waving Jordanian flags.
Thousands of police have lined the streets to oversee marches into the city centre, though there have so far been no reports of unrest.
A counter-rally, in support of King Abdullah, which organisers had predicted would attract 200,000 supporters, was cancelled late on Thursday in order to prevent clashes between the two groups.A counter-rally, in support of King Abdullah, which organisers had predicted would attract 200,000 supporters, was cancelled late on Thursday in order to prevent clashes between the two groups.
Al-Nakheel Square in the Ras al-Ain district has been cordoned off and non-Jordanian nationals have been barred from taking part in the protest, the English-language Jordan Times reported. Earlier, police said they had detained eight people travelling towards the rally and had seized three vehicles containing sticks, knives and guns.
The Islamic Action Front, which is Jordan's main opposition group, has said King Abdullah's attempts to introduce reform until now have not been meaningful. Friday's protest in the capital and the dissolution of parliament come amid mounting opposition anger at the electoral law passed in July by the government of the conservative Prime Minister Fayez al-Tarawneh.
"In particular we demand certain amendments to the constitution which lead to the formation of a parliamentary government," Zaki Bani Arshid, the head of the Brotherhood's political bureau in Amman told the BBC. The electoral law increased the number of seats in the House of Representatives from 120 to 140 seats and gave the electorate two votes - one for a district representative and one for national level lists that include political parties - replacing the single non-transferable vote.
King Abdullah said recently that a prime minister would be elected once a new parliament was established. The IAF's leader, Hamza Mansour, dismissed the legislation as "just a cosmetic change meant to buy time and insufficient for real reforms".
He has dissolved parliaments and sacked prime ministers before in order to show that he is responsive to public dissatisfaction. Opposition parties demanded that 50% of seats be allocated to party lists, but the new electoral law gave them just 17 seats, or 12%.
Jordan has avoided the unrest and political upheaval that rocked much of the Arab world last year. They also complained that the new law would strengthen supporters of the king by allowing members of the security forces to vote for the first time, and allocating three more seats for women from Bedouin districts.
Although protests have taken place in the country since January 2011, they have been relatively small and have not gained the same level of political momentum as those in Egypt or Libya. This, they argued, would continue to marginalise Jordanians of Palestinian origin - who make up 60% of the population but have little political power - in favour of those descended from Jordan's original Bedouin inhabitants - whose tribes dominate the government and security forces and are the bedrock of the Hashemite monarchy.
BBC Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher says that while King Abdullah has presented himself as a unifying force in Jordan, the Muslim Brotherhood's powerful opposition party, the IAF, has been emboldened by the recent success of Islamist parties in Egypt and Tunisia. Traditionally, many of the IAF's supporters have been Jordanians of Palestinian origin.
Are you in Jordan? Will you be taking part in protests? Get in touch using the form below The opposition also demanded that parliament, rather than the king, should have the right to appoint and dismiss the prime minister.
Despite the call for reforms, Jordan has so far avoided the unrest and political upheaval that rocked much of the Arab world last year. Protests have been relatively small and have not gained the same level of political momentum as those in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria.