Moderate Islamists who claim to have the so-far largest coherent bloc in the new Lower House have approached the Muslim Brotherhood to engage them in the formation of the upcoming government and have received a positive response, a leader from the group said.
Leaders from the Brotherhood said they are open to ideas when talks get serious with officials.
His Majesty King Abdullah said last month that the new prime minister will be designated based on consultations with the majority coalition of the parliamentary blocs.
If no clear majority emerges in the next Lower House, the designation will be “based upon consultation with all parliamentary blocs”, the King added in a discussion paper he published to trigger dialogue over a reform roadmap, noting that the premier-designate does not need to be a member of parliament.
Within that scope, the Islamic Centrist Party (ICP) founder and politburo chief Marwan Faouri said that the party took the initiative to consult with the Muslim Brotherhood out of its conviction that all political actors should be part of the reform process and share the responsibility in addressing the political and economic challenges facing the country.
Members of the party took 16 seats in the January 23 polls, including three through the national list and 13 in district-level races, over four times the number of those secured by the second leading ticket.
the Muslim Brotherhood is ready to react openly and positively in case it was officially approached by the decision makers with regards to the formation of the upcoming government
“We are consulting with the leaders of the Brotherhood in order to form a new government. We have received positive feedback that we can build on. Once we bridge the gap and reach an agreement, we will designate one of our winning MPs to embark on forming coalitions with other blocs so we can engage in consultation with the King towards forming a new government,” Faouri said, adding he expected more details to be announced in the coming days.
For its part, “the Muslim Brotherhood is ready to react openly and positively in case it was officially approached by the decision makers with regards to the formation of the upcoming government”, Zaki Bani Rsheid, deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood, told The Jordan Times.
“The country is going through a political impasse and we see a national dialogue between all political actors under Royal sponsorship to be the best way to leap forward,” Bani Rsheid said.
“The political scene in the country is deformed and the rules of the game have to change, meaning the security agencies need to be neutralised and their interference in political discourse should end.”
Meanwhile, Abdul Latif Arabiyat, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s shura council, told The Jordan Times that the new government’s reform programme is key to the Brotherhood’s participation in any future government.
“The movement has not been approached by an official party, rather it was mere talks with a number of MPs including the members from the ICP,” he said, adding that any serious discussions of such kind should include the decision makers in order to guarantee full implementation of the outcome of the consultations.
Hani Hazaimeh
http://jordantimes.com/centrist-islamists-approach-brotherhood-for-power...
