Jordan Times
Friday, February 19, 2010
‘Kingdom prepared for
successful March ballot’ for Iraqis in Jordan
By Taylor Luck
AMMAN - Iraqi election officials predicted successful polls in the Kingdom as
potential voters gathered on Thursday to learn how to participate in the
upcoming parliamentary elections.
In an information session and open dialogue yesterday, officials from Iraq’s
Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) explained voting procedures for the
elections, set to take place in Jordan March 5-7.
“Every Iraqi vote counts, inside and outside Iraq,” IHEC Vice Chairman Amal
Biraqdar said yesterday before dozens of attendees, including Iraqi investors,
schoolteachers, refugees and campaigners.
“We are prepared for successful elections,” Biraqdar told The Jordan Times.
According to the commission, around 1,000 IHEC officials will staff 16 election
centres and 150 polling stations in four governorates across the Kingdom. The
election centres will be distributed in regions with the highest concentration
of Iraqi residents, including 11 in Amman, two in Zarqa, two in Irbid and one in
Madaba.
Polling stations across the country will open from 8:00am to 6:00pm on March 5,
6 and 7, according to officials, who demonstrated to voters how to complete
forms indicating their governorate, preferred party list and candidate.
Observers and election staff have been extensively trained and are prepared for
the next month’s polls, they indicated.
Participants’ questions at the forum addressed issues such as basic voting
procedures, fears over potential confusion regarding place of residence, and how
to determine which Iraqi governorate they are eligible to vote in.
If Iraqis wish to vote in a governorate different than the one indicated on
their national identity card, they must provide two official Iraqi documents
indicating that they resided in the governorate, Biraqdar explained.
IHEC officials stressed that a comprehensive electronic system, based in Erbil,
ensures that no Iraqi citizen can vote multiple times, in separate polling
stations, or on multiple days.
Faiza Al Haidary, a fashion designer who owns a boutique in Amman and travels
frequently between the Kingdom and Iraq, said she expected the upcoming polls to
be an improvement from out-of-country voting in the last elections in 2005.
“They seem to be really organised for this election, and I think it will be a
success,” she predicted.
IHEC Board Commissioner Saad Al Rawi said each Iraqi political entity (party or
coalition) may have one monitor at each polling station in the Kingdom, provided
that they are registered with Iraqi authorities, the commission and relevant
authorities in Jordan.
Hussein, who did not wish to use his real name, said he is among dozens of
observers sent by his political entity to monitor polls in the Kingdom.
“The votes of Iraqis abroad are very influential, and we have to make sure they
are accounted for accurately,” he said.
Rawi told The Jordan Times that political entities can reach their target
audience in the Kingdom through websites, television and radio broadcasts, and
advertisements in daily newspapers, as per an agreement between the two
countries.
Placement of political banners or face-to-face campaigning will not be conducted
in Jordan, he added, noting that the placement of advertisements should be
facilitated through political entities’ representatives in the Kingdom.
Political activity at the polling stations is forbidden, he stressed.
According to the commission’s office in Jordan, 200,000 eligible Iraqis reside
in the Kingdom. Iraqis vote abroad in 16 countries across the world.
Iraqis residing abroad can review the procedures and updates regarding the
elections at IHEC’s out-of-country voting website: www.ocv-ihec.com.