Jordan Times
Monday, June 4, 2007

More than 1.9 million register to vote in municipal elections

By Khalid Neimat

AMMAN — More than 1.9 million citizens have registered to vote in the forthcoming July 17 municipal elections, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs announced on Sunday.

Minister of Municipal Affairs Nader Thuheirat said there would be no extension of the registration period, which ended on Saturday.

The government extended the May 23 deadline for the municipal elections registration to June 2, due to large number of citizens who wished to register for the voting, Thuheirat said last month.

Of the total number, some 500,000 citizens have registered for the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) council elections.

GAM is divided into 27 administrative regions with the council consisting of 54 seats.

During a recent Cabinet session, the government decided to increase the number of GAM council members from 54 to 68, with 27 members to be directly elected by citizens.

The government has also reserved a quota of seven seats for women.

These seats will be allocated according to the largest amount of votes garnered, while the remaining 34 members will be appointed by the government.

The 20 per cent quota for women does not include those who win their seats outright, as stipulated in the Municipalities Law.

Endorsed earlier this year, the new law is aimed at fostering the participation of young people and women in the elections.

Under the law, the age of eligible voters has been reduced from 19 to 18 years to expand the voter base.

The legislation also allocates a minimum of 220 out of the 965 municipal council seats for women.

In the 2003 municipal elections, only five of the 46 women who ran won prompting the government to appoint 97 women to the local councils.

Meanwhile, Interior Minster Eid Al Fayez called on citizens to participate in the forthcoming parliamentary elections and to have their electoral districts stamped on their identity cards.

During a visit to the Civil Status and Passports Department (CSPD) yesterday, he stressed that all citizens should be treated equally.

CSPD Director Imad Madadha said he expected 2.5 million voters to register for the parliamentary elections, which will take place this year.

Voter registration

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