King orders holding parliamentary elections in accordance with law, checks on electoral commission’s preparations

Amman — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday ordered holding elections for the House of Representatives, in accordance with the law.

A Royal Decree was issued, in accordance with Paragraph I of Article 34 of the Constitution, ordering holding the elections in the manner stipulated in the law.

Coinciding with the decree, His Majesty visited the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and met with its president and board of commissioners to check on preparations to administer and oversee the electoral process, according to a Royal Court statement.

During the meeting, the King urged the IEC’s board of commissioners and staff to work to ensure the success of the electoral process, calling for zero tolerance of any violations.

His Majesty stressed that Jordan is embarking on an important stage of political modernisation, which is the beginning of a new phase of platform-based partisan and parliamentary action, the statement said. 

The King said he directed the government to provide all support to the IEC.

For his part, IEC President Musa Maaytah said the commission is ready to organise the election and announce its results transparently.

He noted that the IEC has published voters’ lists electronically, adding that the number of voters exceeds five million.

Maaytah said 1,600 polling stations and 19 main electoral committees were selected, noting that the IEC will publish voters’ polling stations, with an electronic service that enables them to change their polling centre within the same electoral district, and allows Christian, Circassian, and Chechen voters to change their electoral district, if their district does not have an allocated seat for candidates representing them.

He added that the commission, in cooperation with the Interior Ministry, has worked on facilitating measures to change voters’ area of residence, and has carried out mock elections based on the new Election Law, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and the Ministry of Youth.

The IEC also launched an action plan to integrate persons with disabilities in the electoral process, by ensuring accessibility at 95 centres and recruiting volunteers, in cooperation with the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and has published material to raise awareness and developed its website to address their needs.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, and Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan, attended the meeting.