Jordan holds local vote seen as test for Islamists

AMMAN, July 31 (Reuters) Jordanians voted for local councils today in elections widely seen as a litmus test of support for the mainstream Islamist opposition ahead of a parliamentary vote later this year.

The Islamist Action Front, which is the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood and the main opposition party, accused authorities of trying to influence the ballot by ferrying tens of thousands of police and security forces personnel to vote.

The government, which says it went ahead with the first local elections since 1999 to bring greater democratisation, dismissed suggestions of vote rigging and said the military were eligible to vote.

The Islamists are fielding candidates in traditional urban strongholds.

Some 1.9 million Jordanians are eligible to vote in the local polls. Over 2,706 candidates are standing for 929 municipal seats in cities and towns, including the cities of Irbid and Zarqa.

The local polls will be followed by multi-party parliamentary elections later this year after the assembly's four-year term formally ended last month. The Islamists, who have 17 seats in the current parliament, may stand.

The authorities fear the Islamist movement, which seeks political change through peaceful means, will make electoral gains in both polls, capitalising on popular disenchantment with successive governments and a belief they failed to deliver on promises of reform.

REUTERS ARB BST1539