Jordan's Islamic Action Front rejects order to change party name

Jordan's Islamic Action Front has rejected a demand from the Independent Election Commission to change its name, saying the request "lacks a clear legal basis".

In a statement on Thursday, the IEC said the party violates Article 5 of the Political Parties Law by using a name that implies a religious foundation, which the article prohibits.

The Islamic Action Front is the political arm of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, whose activities were banned in April 2025 amid wider regional designations of some of its branches as “terrorist organisations”.

Several Brotherhood officials, including three senior figures, have since been prosecuted in Amman on charges including money laundering and unauthorised fundraising.

Jordanian courts dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood organisation itself on 16 July 2020, citing its failure to regularise its legal status after years of tacit tolerance.

The party, however, retained its licence, contested the September 2024 parliamentary elections and won 31 of 138 seats in the House of Representatives.

Al-Saqqa argued that Article 5 applies only to newly established parties, not to existing ones such as the IAF, whose name has been in use since its founding in 1992.

He said the name was reaffirmed during the party’s 2023 re-registration under the current law, with no objections raised at the time.

IEC spokesperson Mohammad Khair Al-Rawashdeh said the party’s bylaws breach more than Article 5, citing provisions he said undermine democratic norms.

He pointed to the alleged "improper formation" of the party court, an executive office election process that concentrates authority in the hands of the secretary-general, and alleged violations of Article 25(a) concerning financial resources and spending.

Al-Rawashdeh said that the commission had contacted six parties last week regarding similar complaints, adding that four had agreed to submit amendments to their bylaws to the party registry.

The Labour Party joined the Brotherhood-affiliated IAF in formally rejecting the demands.

With an additional grace period now expired, the commission considers the parties to be in violation of the Political Parties Law.

The matter will now be referred to the relevant council, which is expected to notify them to correct the issues within 60 days.