1,200 plan to run for elections — IEC

AMMAN — The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Sunday said that around 1,200 individuals have voiced their intention of running in the upcoming 19th Parliamentary elections.

“We have been monitoring various media outlets and have so far counted the names of around 1,200 individuals who announced their initial intentions to run for the upcoming elections on November 10,” IEC Spokesperson Jihad Momani said.

The IEC official told The Jordan Times that the commission assigned October 6, 7, and 8 as the designated dates for individuals to officially register to run for the elections.  

A Royal Decree was issued recently directing the concerned agencies to hold parliamentary elections in accordance with the provisions of law.

Meanwhile, Momani said that the commission “received about 34,232 objections regarding the registration lists of voters in various parts of the Kingdom, and the door for any additional objections have been closed”.

These objections are usually related to people who have changed their residency since 2016 until this date in the Kingdom’s 23 constituencies, Momani told The Jordan Times.

The IEC official also said that around 270,000 citizens contacted the commission via social media and other communication means to “ask us questions that are related to the upcoming elections and the process in general”.

The high volume of the objections related to voters' registration lists and the thousands of questions by citizens are all indicators that there is “mounting interest and attention by the public regarding the upcoming elections”, according to Momani.

Momani added that there were 26 reported cases related to financial irregularities, whereby expected individuals planning to run for elections “would use money to buy votes”.

“We were reported about suspected 26 cases so far related to individuals who plan to run for elections who are using money to buy people’s votes,” Momani added.   

Two of these cases have been referred to the relevant authorities for further questioning and examination, Momani added.

The IEC had announced recently that accreditation for international agencies to monitor the November elections will be open between August 16 and October 20.

Interested agencies can apply through the commission's website, the IEC said on its website.