AMMAN — A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood said on Thursday that he will run in the upcoming municipal elections despite the group’s decision to boycott the August 27 polls.
Speaking to The Jordan Times in a phone interview on Thursday, Nabil Kofahi said he was nominated by 400 figures from Irbid Governorate, some 80km north of Amman, to run for the city’s mayoral race.
“They have chosen me and I could not say no,” he added.
Kofahi, who was the mayor of Irbid from 1999 to 2001 with an impressive record, according to several sources, preferred not to discuss the Brotherhood’s reaction to his decision to take part in the elections.
“This is something I don’t want to discuss. I prefer not to go through any disputes with the group I belong to,” he said.
In early July, the Islamic Action Front, the Brotherhood’s political arm, decided to boycott the municipal elections.
Deputy overall leader of the Brotherhood, Zaki Bani Rsheid, responded to what he called baseless news reports about the group rescinding the boycott.
“Our decision to boycott the municipal polls is final,” Bani Rsheid was quoted as saying in several local news websites on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the coalition of leftist and pan-Arab parties said it will participate in the elections according to a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.
The decision was taken during a meeting held by the coalition’s representatives at the headquarters of the Jordanian People’s Democratic Party (Hashed).
by: Raed Omari
source: http://jordantimes.com/brotherhood-leader-to-run-in-municipal-polls-despite-group-boycott
