Over 1,200 candidates registered for elections - IEC

AMMAN — The Independent Elections Commission (IEC) on Wednesday said that 1,235 people registered in 171 local and general lists have submitted their candidacy in the first two days of registration to run for the upcoming parliamentary elections slated for September 10.

IEC Spokesperson Mohammad Kheir Rawashdeh told The Jordan Times that the closing date for candidacy registration will be today (Thursday).

Rawashdeh said the IEC began examining the applications following the registration commencement on Tuesday, adding that the IEC will either accept or reject the application.

Starting August 9, candidates can start their electoral campaigns until September 8, according to a press statement by the IEC

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.

The IEC added that it had published the voter’s list on its social media platforms “to allow the public to access it”, according to the statement.

On April 24, His Majesty King Abdullah ordered the holding of the elections for the House of Representatives, by the law.

In 2022, the Senate and the Lower House passed the 2022 amendments to the Political Parties Law, which require political parties to increase the percentage of women and youth to at least 20 per cent within three years after their foundation.

There should be no less than 1,000 founding members of political parties, and at least 10 per cent should be women and young people between 18 and 35 years old, according to the new law. 

The law also allows university students who join political parties to engage in partisan activities on campus without any infringement on their rights, as a bylaw will be issued to regulate such activities. 

It also stipulates that a founding conference shall be held by the party within a year after meeting the requirements, where no less than a third of the party’s 1,000 founders shall attend, and must represent at least six governorates.   

The Political Parties Law, along with the Elections Law, has been revisited by the Royal Committee to Modernise the Political System as part of its mandate to achieve the envisioned political reform.

During a visit in late April to the IEC, King Abdullah 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.