Jordanians head to polls today

AMMAN — Jordanians will head to the polling stations today to elect 1,135 governorate and municipal council representatives.

Some 4,602,135 people, including 2,437,340 women, are eligible to vote in Tuesday’s elections.

The final official number of individuals registered to run for the elections is 4,646, including 846 women.

However, a candidate passed away recently and a second was appointed in a government position in Aqaba, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) Spokesperson Mohammad Rawashdeh said.

IEC officials said earlier this week that some 5,000 individuals, including 100 international persons, will be monitoring the elections.

Rawashdeh told The Jordan Times that the Public Security Directorate (PSD) has dispatched over 55,000 personnel to monitor 1,850 polling stations, which contains 6,937 ballot boxes.

“The PSD personnel will be stationed at the polling stations until the end of the elections,” Rawashdeh noted.

Meanwhile, Rawashdeh said that the registration and campaign race witnessed 931 violations, including 44 suspected cases that involved financial electoral fraud.

Two of the 44 alleged financial electoral fraud cases were referred to the judiciary for further investigations, according to the IEC official.

However, the two candidates in question will be able to run “until a verdict is issued by the concerned court,” according to Rawashdeh.

The IEC announced recently that 13.3 million ballot papers were printed with security marks for the upcoming elections with three colours: One for the city council presidency seat, one for the city council membership seat and one for the governorate seat.

The Cabinet had decided to hold governorate and municipal council elections last November. 

The Cabinet also approved the Amman Municipal Council Election Law and electoral appeals for 2021.

Citizens wishing to cast their ballots should send a message to 94455 to get information on their polling stations, according to Rawashdeh.

On March 20, His Majesty King Abdullah visited the IEC to check on preparations for the municipal and governorate council elections.

At a meeting with the IEC chief commissioner and board of commissioners, the King commended the IEC’s measures and preparations for the upcoming elections, as the commission marks its 10th anniversary, highlighting its role in developing electoral processes in Jordan, according to a Royal Court statement. 

His Majesty stressed the need to encourage participation in elections, especially among women and youth, pointing to the IEC’s role in political modernisation, as the recent constitutional amendments moved the political parties’ portfolio from the government to the IEC.

Calling for zero tolerance towards any violations that could affect the integrity and transparency of the elections, the King urged maintaining cooperation among all the concerned state entities to ensure a smooth electoral process, the statement said. 

In addition, His Majesty called for maintaining open communication channels with the media to ensure the swift and accurate flow of information.