Activists hit the streets in various cities on Friday as protests over the controversial draft elections law stretched into their fourth day. Leftists, independents and supporters of the Islamist movement joined ranks in a series of rallies in several parts of the country against the Lower House’s endorsement of an “undemocratic” elections law and ongoing government austerity measures. Under the slogan “No to the one-vote formula”, activists rallied in Irbid, Salt, Tafileh and Maan to object to the bill, which they claim fails to break away from the one-person, one-vote system that favours independent candidates at the expense of political parties.
The epicentre of Friday’s protests was in Karak Governorate, which hosted four separate demonstrations and marches calling for the immediate withdrawal of the draft legislation and resignation of Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh’s government over recent rises in fuel and electricity prices. One of the lowest turnouts in Friday’s protests was in the capital, where some 100 leftists and tribal activists marched in a downtown rally marked by the absence of the Muslim Brotherhood — the country’s largest opposition political force. During the brief rally, participants called for the immediate dissolution of Parliament and for directly elected governments.
Full Article: Rallies protest draft elections law | The Jordan Times.
