Jordan Times
Sunday, December 18, 2005
10 per cent voter
turnout recorded in Kingdom
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
AMMAN — Iraqi officials described last week's
elections as a “success” with some 32,000 Iraqi expatriates living in the
Kingdom joining their fellow countrymen around the world to cast absentee
ballots for the first permanent government since the American invasion.
Organisers had expected the out-of-country voter turnout to overshadow the vote
in Iraq, but official figures revealed the contrary.
The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) reported a 70 per cent voter
turnout in Iraq with 10 million casting their votes on Dec. 15.
Based on the absentee ballots recorded, 21 per cent of the estimated expatriate
electorate of about 1.5 million voted.
Voter turnout in the Kingdom was 10 per cent — double the number that cast
ballots for the January interim assembly elections.
The biggest turnout was in Iran, where 59,000 Iraqis voted. Around the same
number cast out-of-country votes in Britain and Sweden, while some 28,500 Iraqis
voted in the United States, 24,500 in Syria, 17,500 in the United Arab Emirates
and 3,500 in Lebanon.
Hamdiah Husseini, head of the IECI, said voting outside Iraq went smoothly
except for some violations reported in Jordan and Turkey.
In the Kingdom, 34 Iraqis who attempted to vote more than once after removing
the ink from their fingers were arrested.
Voters were required to dip their fingers in special ink that would last for one
week to avoid vote rigging.
Husseini also said some candidates tried to buy votes at $50 each.
Officials were investigating reports of polling violations in Istanbul, she
added.
Out-of-country voting (OCV) was conducted in Australia, Austria, Canada,
Denmark, Germany, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Sweden, Syria, Turkey,
the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Meanwhile, Paul Dacey, vice chair of the International Mission for Iraqi
Elections (IMIE) steering committee, said he was satisfied with election
procedures in and outside Iraq but he had some concerns on several technical and
procedural issues.
The IMIE deployed 400 international observers who monitored all polling centres
in the 15 countries where OCV took place.
“IMIE monitors in other countries have reported procedural problems that did not
allow for full transparency. In particular, polling centre staff failed to
permit monitors to verify voter lists,” he said in a statement received by The
Jordan Times.
He praised the IECI for its successful campaign in the buildup to the elections.
A total of 307 political entities and 19 coalitions registered to contest the
275 seats in the council, according to the commission.
Twelve polling stations were set up in public schools in Amman, Zarqa and Irbid
for eligible voters — Iraqi passport holders over 18 who were born in Iraq.