Islamist defectors to register new political party ‘within a month’

AMMAN — After several months of consultations and studies, defectors from the Islamic Action Front (IAF) will attempt to register a new political party within a month, the splinter group said on Sunday.

The Elders Group is headed by former leaders of the IAF, the political arm of the now unlicensed Muslim Brotherhood.

The group, led by veteran Islamist Hamzah Mansour and Salem Falahat, envisions the new political party as a collective party, it said. “Our target is to complete the registration process within one month,” said Ghaith Qudah, a member of the Elders Group.

The group has not yet decided whether members of the planned party will take part in upcoming elections, expected in September, Qudah added. 

The group has over 400 members, including top leaders and founding members of the Muslim Brotherhood movement and the IAF who resigned from the party in December.

Leaders of the National Building Initiative, known as the Zamzam initiative, another group of Islamist defectors led by Erheil Gharaibeh, are also forming a new party.

The Zamzam initiative was launched in 2012 by moderate Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood and other political figures. It offered proposals to address challenges facing the Kingdom. 

The Brotherhood rejected the initiative,  a move that was seen as a sign of disarray within its ranks.

The Brotherhood later expelled three of its leading members — Gharaibeh, Nabil Kofahi and Jamil Dheisat — over their involvement in the initiative.

Meanwhile, the IAF shura council will meet on Saturday to discuss the possibility of taking part in the upcoming elections, according to Murad Adayleh, the party’s spokesperson.