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Protest demanding political reform held in Jordan

Dunya News

Thousands of people held protest in Jordans capital Amman on Friday, calling for political reform.

Jordans King Abdullah on Thursday dissolved the countrys pro-government, rubber-stamp parliament, a constitutional move to pave the way for elections expected early next year.The Islamic Action Front -- Jordans wing of the Muslim Brotherhood -- and a coalition of tribal and other Islamist groups are pressing the monarch to speed up what they consider to be the slow pace of reform.A conservative government led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Tarawneh passed an electoral law last July that has angered the countrys main Islamist opposition, prompting it to say it will boycott upcoming elections unless its demands for wider representation are met.The electoral law keeps intact a system that marginalizes the representation of Jordanians of Palestinian origin, on whom Islamists rely on for their support, in favor of native Jordanians who keep a tight grip on power and are the backbone of the powerful security forces.