Islamist president of Jordan’s Bar Association, Saleh Armouti, kept his post for the second time during Friday’s vote, said reports.
A total of 4,664 Jordanian lawyers cast their votes for a bar association chief, said the Jordan Times newspaper.
Armouti defeated Waleed Abdul Hadi, former president of the association who is supported by leftist and pan-Arabist lawyers, said the paper, adding that the Islamist lawyer also defeated two other independent candidates, Omar Damrah and Ragheb Qassim.
Armouti, an independent Islamist who is known for his opposition to normalization with Israel and support for the lifting of the decade-old sanctions against Iraq, has been in his post since 1999.
His election manifesto includes the rejection of what he described as the "custody of others" in the association and the endorsement of an amendment to its current law which he believes should be reviewed, said the paper.
Armouti also said that he will exert efforts to prevent non-Jordanian lawyers from working in Jordan, as they should be allowed to do as part of World Trade Organization regulations.
Armouti said that among his priorities is to exempt lawyers from the 13 percent sales tax, which many lawyers have criticized in the past year, said the Jordan Times.
Professional unions have recently come under heavy criticism from Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb, who accused them of practicing in political activity rather than work related to their unions, AFP said.
The criticism followed the arrest of seven unionists, who were later released, in connection with the publication of a "black list" of Jordanians who deal with Israel as part of a campaign against normalization with Israel.
Islamists also dominate the agricultural engineers association and the engineers association – Albawaba.com
