Petra News Agency
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Polls incomplete due to low turnout in Amman
Islamists pull out over allegations of vote rigging
Municipal elections concluded late Tuesday all over the Kingdom, except in five districts in Amman, where polling centres
will open today to complete the process.
Meanwhile, the Islamists pulled out of the race citing “vote rigging”, while “isolated” clashes were reported in several
districts.
Minister of Municipal Affairs Nader Thuheirat told a press conference the turnout all over the Kingdom reached the 50+1
percentage required to count the votes in all of the country’s 94 municipalities.
The capital city was the exception since turnout in five of its districts was below the required level. These districts were
Marka, Sports City, Tlaa Al Ali, Jubeiha and Marj Al Hamam, Thuheirat said.
The minister announced the winners in the rest of the municipalities, including women who were allocated a 20 per cent
quota in municipal councils all over the country.
The Islamic Action Front (IAF), which fielded 33 candidates, withdrew from the polls, accusing the government of vote
rigging.
“The government induced a massacre to democracy and a catastrophe against the nation by supporting candidates at the
expense of others,” the group said in a statement.
The IAF, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, charged that the government used army personnel for duplicate
voting, saying buses carrying plain-clothed soldiers were moving from one polling station to another, with the same people
casting ballots in more than one centre.
Eyewitnesses in Irbid conveyed similar remarks.
One person told The Jordan Times that “dozens of buses carrying plain-clothed army officers were moving between polling
stations and voting several times.”
Assem Omari, from the Observatory on Man and Environment, a human rights centre, said angry crowds tossed rocks at the
buses, causing injuries among passengers.
“I have visited several polling stations in Irbid and noticed flagrant attempts by the government to rig the vote. They are
not even bothering to hide it,” Omari said.
IAF Secretary General Zaki Bani Irsheid said in the statement that his party was “contemplating the idea of pulling out of
the upcoming parliamentary elections”.
But Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit described the Islamists’ withdrawal as “illegal”, and categorically denied accusations of
vote rigging.
Bakhit said the decision was inconsistent with due procedure, because any pullout had to be done a day before the elections.
The withdrawal does not jeopardise the legitimacy of the process, he said.
“The legitimacy of elections is derived from the Constitution, not the participation of one party or another,” said Bakhit
during a press conference at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh accused the Islamists of manipulating the current polls as a media gimmick ahead of
the legislative elections, expected later this year.
“The Islamists left the race because they felt their candidates are losing. There are legal ways to protest against
irregularities, if they existed, but withdrawing from the race is not one of them,” said Judeh. He went on to accuse the
IAF of taking the decision to walk out “prior to the elections”.
He said the group was talking as if voting by soldiers was “unannounced and secret”, noting that the group did not object
over the past three months that army personnel had the right to vote.
“The participation of the military was announced and it is legal, running in harmony with municipal laws active in the
country since the 1920s,” Judeh said.
Amendments to the Municipalities Law allow “every Jordanian, civilian or a military, living in any town or village, and
paying taxes, to take part in municipal polls,” he added.
Meanwhile, clashes among supporters and with security forces were reported in several parts of the Kingdom including Amman,
Irbid, Madaba, Tafileh, and other areas.
In Khirbet Al Souq, south Amman, at least one received gunshot wounds during a confrontation between security forces and
supporters of candidates in the district, eyewitnesses told The Jordan Times.
An earlier statement by the IAF said security forces in Khirbet Al Souq, “attacked candidates and supporters, firing guns
and injuring one citizen”.
Amman Governor Saad Manasir confirmed in remarks to The Jordan News Agency, Petra, that some “incidents” took place in
Khirbet Al Souq, saying the situation was swiftly brought under control.
In downtown Amman, an eyewitness told The Jordan Times that riot police used tear gas to disperse crowds after a clash
between supporters of rival candidates.
Security forces reportedly cordoned off the area and closed down the polling station to contain the situation.
Minister of Interior Eid Fayez told The Jordan Times that “some incidents took place” but insisted that “the process, in
general, was going on smoothly”.