Jordan’s PM calls for high turnout after voting in legislative elections

Al Jasauné highlights that the elections are part of “a process of political modernization” promoted by the 2022 reform

September 10 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Jasauné has expressed his hope for a “high turnout” in the legislative elections taking place in the country on Tuesday and said after voting that the elections are part of “a process of political modernisation.”

“I am honoured to have fulfilled my constitutional right and my national duty,” he said after casting his ballot at a polling station in the capital, Amman, where he spoke of “a great day” that marks “the first milestone in the process of modernisation.”

She has called on the population, especially women and young people, to go out and vote and has highlighted the reform undertaken in 2022 to reform electoral legislation and give greater weight to political parties, according to the Jordanian state news agency, Petra.

“Elections are the gateway to genuine youth participation in politics and decision-making,” he said, adding that the vote will “increase Jordan’s resilience” and “go hand in hand with economic and administrative modernisation.”

Al-Jasauné also stressed that the vote is taking place despite the “difficult conditions in the region” due to the “brutal Israeli aggression” against the Gaza Strip and “the escalation in the West Bank”, following the attacks carried out on October 7, 2023 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian factions against Israeli territory.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said the turnout rate at 2:15 p.m. local time was 15.38 percent, while Jordanian police praised the “cooperation” of the population during the vote.

The Public Security Directorate (DSP) has stressed that there have been some “violations” during the process, mainly “fights” in front of several polling stations, although it has stressed that these incidents have not affected the voting process in any way.

Some 5,115,000 voters have registered to take part in the vote, which will see more than 1,600 candidates contesting. Independent Electoral Commission President Musa Maaita recently stressed that an electronic platform will be set up to publish results updates and promised that the process will be transparent.

The elections will determine the composition of the new lower house of parliament, the first vote since the reshuffle of the electoral law approved in 2022 as part of a reform process to increase political representation that also led to an increase in the powers of King Abdullah II.