Jordan- Islamists renew reform calls 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) The Islamist movement on Friday downplayed expectations that it will participate in upcoming elections, renewing its calls for widespread political reforms.

In a Friday afternoon rally in west Amman, overall leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan Hamam Saeed cautioned that until decision makers take a series of reform measures, ranging from constitutional amendments to the dissolution of the Senate, talk of Islamists' participation in upcoming parliamentary elections is "premature".

In a rally that gathered some 500 leaders and supporters of the Islamist movement, he said that although prepared to participate in government under "the right conditions", the Muslim Brotherhood has no intentions of "monopolising" power.

Saeed linked Islamists' participation in upcoming polls to the scaling back of security services' influence in public life, which Islamists claim "leaves no room" for political competition.

"There is a role for the General Intelligence Department, but it is not in the political, economic and administrative affairs of the country," he stressed during the rally, which marked the Islamist movement's largest public event in nearly a month.

Friday's event also featured the participation of former Anti-Corruption Commission member Abdul Razaq Bani Hani, whose resignation last month prompted speculation over the commission's independence and willingness to tackle large-scale corruption cases.

In a speech during the rally, Bani Hani alleged that despite involving high-ranking former officials, recent corruption cases amounted to "cosmetic" rather than sincere attempts to tackle systemic corruption in the country.

Also during the one-hour rally, speakers expressed Jordan's support for the Syrian people and renewed calls for the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador to the Kingdom Bahjat Suleiman, leading chants of "Suleiman, Suleiman leave Amman.