This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7105281.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Jordan Islamists face poll losses Jordan Islamists claim poll fraud
(about 16 hours later)
Jordan's Islamist opposition has lost most of its seats in parliamentary polls, early results suggest, amid charges of widespread electoral fraud. Jordan's Islamist opposition has lost most of its seats in parliamentary polls which it says were marred by vote-rigging and electoral fraud.
Islamic Action Front (IAF) candidates are expected to be confirmed winners in seven of the 22 seats they contested. Islamic Action Front (IAF) candidates were confirmed winners in just six of the 22 seats they contested, down from 17 in the last parliament.
Official figures were expected to be announced at a press conference later on Wednesday. It said its own polling indicated at least 16 IAF members should have won.
"There was clear vote-rigging in several districts," IAF spokesman Jamil Abu Baker told the French Press Agency. The interior minister denied any fraud, saying the government had conducted "impartial and fair" elections.
"We did not expect all of our candidates to win, but thought that at least 16 or 18 of them would on the basis of our extensive polling." IAF spokesman Jamil Abu Bakr called for a rerun of polling in constituencies where he said fraud had occurred.
He pointed to the results in Zarqa, a traditional Islamist stronghold, where the IAF appears to have failed to win a single seat. "This is an electoral massacre... violations by far exceeded even the last elections... it will have harmful repercussions on the country's political progress," he said.
He pointed to the results in Zarqa, a traditional Islamist stronghold, where the IAF failed to win a single seat.
Tribal areasTribal areas
During polling on Tuesday, Interior Minister Eid al-Fayez said accusations of vote buying "had been exaggerated by the media". Results were announced by Interior Minister Eid al-Fayez at a news conference in Amman.
Q&A: Jordanian election Officials admitted that 17 people had been arrested on suspicion of interfering with the electoral process, including two for alleged vote-buying.
But Mr Eid said accusations of widespread vote-rigging "had been exaggerated by the media".
The IAF fielded candidates in a fifth of the 110 seats, but only after receiving assurances from the government that the vote would be fair.The IAF fielded candidates in a fifth of the 110 seats, but only after receiving assurances from the government that the vote would be fair.
"Our mistake was that we believed in government promises," an unnamed Islamist politician told AFP."Our mistake was that we believed in government promises," an unnamed Islamist politician told AFP.
Critics of the electoral system say it is tailored to counter popular support of Islamist and liberal opposition candidates in urban areas.Critics of the electoral system say it is tailored to counter popular support of Islamist and liberal opposition candidates in urban areas.
Staunchly conservative tribal areas are over-represented in parliament, with each MP representing 2,000-3,000 voters, compared with more than 90,000 voters per MP in the capital Amman.Staunchly conservative tribal areas are over-represented in parliament, with each MP representing 2,000-3,000 voters, compared with more than 90,000 voters per MP in the capital Amman.
Correspondents say a number of Islamist sympathisers running as independents may have won seats, but they will not be known until official results are available. Correspondents say a number of Islamist sympathisers ran as independents but none of them succeeded in winning a seat.
Real power rests with the king in Jordan, who appoints governments, approves legislation and is able to dissolve parliament.