Jordan sets parliamentary polls for Nov. 20-source

AMMAN, Aug 21 (Reuters) Jordan has set November. 20 as the date for multi-party parliamentary polls, a government source told Reuters today.

King Abdullah issued a decree on Sunday dissolving the chamber, whose four-year term formally ended in April.

Conservative politicians had urged the monarch to delay the vote because they fear the opposition Islamist movement may make electoral gains in the 110-member chamber. But the king did not use his constitutional right to do so.

The last election, in June 2003, brought gains for the Islamists, who held 17 seats in the dissolved chamber.

Since then, Islamist movements with platforms similar to Jordan's Islamic Action Front (IAF) have performed strongly at the ballot box in Egypt and the Palestinian territories.

But the IAF has threatened to boycott the election because of what it sees as discrimination against it by the government.

Under the constitution, most powers rest with Jordan's king, who appoints the government, approves legislation and can dissolve parliament.

REUTERS LPB RK2006