Jordan Times
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Khader says no observers to January 9 poll
AMMAN — Jordan will not send observers to the Palestinian presidential election on January 9, a senior official announced Monday.
“The Kingdom did not receive an official request from the Palestinian leadership to send election monitors,” Government Spokesperson Asma Khader said at her weekly press conference.
She added that any Arab participation in observing the voting should be through the Arab League.
“Jordan is confident that the Palestinian people will be capable of holding the election in line with international standards,” Khader, also minister of culture, said. The EU, Switzerland, Norway and Canada said they would send more than 260 monitors to the election after Israel allowed them to enter the Palestinian territories. Khader, meanwhile, said Jordan TV and the Jordan News Agency, Petra, will cover the event, adding that the government will help other journalists join the two state-run agencies.
Last week, His Majesty King Abdullah told Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Ehud Olmert at a Royal Court meeting that the Jewish state should assist the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to hold election “in a suitable climate.” Israel vowed to ensure a free and fair ballot to choose Yasser Arafat's successor. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Cabinet rubber-stamped a deal Sunday reached with the Palestinians to hold the election under the same framework as the only other presidential ballot in 1996, including voting rights for residents of East Jerusalem.