IEC approves 174 general lists, 25 political parties for upcoming elections

AMMAN — The Independent Elections Commission (IEC) on Sunday accepted the registration of 174 general lists and 25 political parties lists registered to run for the upcoming parliamentary elections slated for September 10.

The IEC board, headed by the commission's president Musa Maaytah, rejected 11 names in the political parties lists because of incomplete candidacy condition/s, IEC Spokesperson Mohammad Kheir Rawashdeh said.

“Starting Tuesday, the 11 individuals have three days to contest the IEC’s decision to disqualify them at the relevant appeals court,” Rawashdeh told The Jordan Times.

The IEC will announce the preliminary lists of candidates running for the upcoming elections on Monday morning via its website (www.iec.jo) and two local dailies, according to Rawashdeh.

Meanwhile, the IEC said in a press statement that the initial figures indicated that the number of candidates running in the general constituency was 697, including 192 females.

The number of youths under 35 running for the general constituency was 110 males and 50 females, while the number of individuals running for the Christian seats was 32 and seven individuals registered to run for the Circassian and Chechen seats.

 As for the local constituencies, the number of competing lists for the 18 electoral districts was 174, according to the IEC press release.

The total number of candidates registered on the lists was 954, including 195 women and 60 youths under 35, including 28 females. 

Turning to the political parties’ local lists, the number of individuals registered in the list was 269, including 25 women, 58 Christians and 19 Circassians and Chechens, according to the IEC press release.

The number of women competing for the women’s quota in the parliament was 170, the IEC statement added.

Starting August 9, candidates can start their electoral campaigns until September 8.

Candidates wishing to run for elections have until August 28 to withdraw their candidacy, according to the IEC.

Earlier in the month, the IEC said in a press statement the final number of eligible voters for the upcoming Parliamentary elections was 5,115,219, including 2,689,926   females, which represent 52.5 per cent of the total voters.

The statement added that the number of eligible voters who will cast their ballots for the first time was 590,794.

Meanwhile, the number of eligible voters who are under 25 years old was 1,119,832, while the number of voters who are under 35 was 2,323,478, according to the IEC statement.

The IEC also stated that voters can check their ballot polling stations, location, and the number of the polling box by visiting the website www.iec.jo or by contacting the hotline number 117100 or via free text messages at the number 94455.