‘Islamists lose domination over teachers syndicate’

AMMAN — Islamists have apparently lost their grip on the Jordan Teachers Association (JTA), according to a watchdog and the official in charge of the polls.

Sami Salaitah, head of the higher committee of the JTA central elections, was quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, as saying that the independents won 169 out of the total 316 seats.

Rassed, an election watchdog, put the number of seats won by other candidates than Islamists at 170. The Islamists begged to differ, claiming that they won around 52 per cent of the seats in all JTA branches across the Kingdom.

The picture, however, will be clear after the winners, who now constitute the syndicate’s central body, will meet in April to elect the president and the association’s council. 

Salaitah dismissed the Islamists’ statement as “false allegations”, according to Petra.

For its part, Rassed said the majority of winners are independents or members of autocratic or pan-Arabist blocs.  

Salaitah confirmed that independent teachers “overwhelmingly won” the closed lists in Balqa, Tafileh, Maan, Aqaba, Ajloun, Madaba and Karak, in addition to their victory in single seats in the rest of governorates.

Petra said that some winning independent members who had joined ranks with the Islamists, who are mostly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, have announced their intention to withdraw from the alliance as a result of “what they suffered of alienations in the previous two terms” of the Islamists-dominated syndicate, which came into existence in 2001 following a mass strike by teachers.

A total of 691 individual candidates and 23 lists competed in the elections.

According to the syndicate’s website the average turnout in the elections nationwide stood at 72.61 per cent, with Ajloun registering the highest rate with 90.6 per cent, and Amman the lowest with 60.4 per cent.