Jordan Times
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
NCHR to observe polls ‘despite government decision to bar NGOs’ representatives from entering polling halls’
By Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN - The National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) said on Monday that it would
carry out its mission to follow and observe today’s election despite a decision
by the government not to allow observers into the polling halls.
An NCHR statement said that the government on Sunday informed the centre that
the follow-up team, which was formed and trained by the centre, will not be
allowed to be present inside the voting halls.
The NCHR observers will only be allowed to watch the voting process through
doors and windows as only candidates’ representatives are allowed to stay inside
the halls, “contrary to what has been agreed upon earlier with the government”,
according to NCHR’s statement, which was posted on its website.
The government said last week that in coordination with the NCHR, the physical
location of the agreed upon 150 representatives of NGOs was defined, where these
representatives will have a vantage point that will enable them to observe the
polling halls in different polling centres.
The centre has trained the observers to be stationed in all polling centres
around the Kingdom to follow and observe the election process through its
various stages, said the statement.
NCHR has also prepared a team of 25 field coordinators that will be in contact
with the observers, in addition to an operations room inside the NCHR to receive
citizens’ and observers’ remarks and complaints during the election day.
Furthermore, NCHR has named three of its staff as representatives inside the
Interior Ministry’s central operations room to deal with any complaints in
cooperation with the ministry staff immediately.
Regardless of the government decision, the statement added, the NCHR will
“exercise its duties in observing the elections by all means guaranteed by the
law”.
Despite frequent attempts by The Jordan Times to contact Interior Ministry
officials, they were not available for comment.
NCHR General Commissioner Shaher Bak said in an interview on Wednesday that a
total of 16 NGOs have so far expressed their wish to participate in observing
polls under the umbrella of the centre.