Jordan’s elections shadowed by allegations of voter fraud

Some candidates claim voter registers and ballot boxes ‘disappeared’ Amman – Osama Al Rantissi Ongoing vote counting in the wake of Jordan’s parliamentary elections has unearthed a number of alleged violations in constituencies across the country, meanwhile scuppering the electoral hopes of some high-profile candidates.The first constituency in the city of Salt, 20 kilometres east of Amman, has reportedly suffered the worst bout of electoral irregularities in the country.
Walid Jreisat, a candidate looking to take a Christian seat in the Salt constituency, has objected to “major infractions” there, claiming two ballot boxes, three voter registers and an official record of proceedings have disappeared since polling stations closed on Wednesday night. The constituency’s count will reportedly be delayed until Thursday noon as a result.
Jreisat told Arabstoday that Jordan’s Independent Electoral Commission [IEC] refused to hand over a record of these incidents -- surrounding ballot box number 137 at the Latine al-Fuhais school and ballot box number 157 at a school in the town of Aira near Salt -- adding that he “would not stand silent in the face of these violations.”
The Jordanian elections were “not fair,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, a mixture of chaos and monotony permeated the hall at al-Ahliyya University in Amman where votes were being counted.
Counting, which began at 2030 hrs on Wednesday [one hour after the boxes had been sealed] lasted until noon on Thursday.
Deputy head of the electoral committee, Mohammed al-Kaloub, confirmed that three voter registers were missing after the bag they were in was discovered to be empty. Al-Khaloub has announced a search for the register books. Candidates will have a right to formally object if they are found to have been tampered with, he said.
Jreisat meanwhile reiterated calls for a recount in the Christian seat in Salt, claiming he has eyewitnesses who reported the presence of individuals at polling stations who volunteered to mark voters' ballots on their behalf.
Other candidates are now demanding a recount.
Jihad al-Khuraisat, another candidate in Salt, has asserted a number of mistake have taken place during counting. “Violations took place during a power cut,” he claimed, “ballot boxes arrived at counting centres six hours late and polling stations in some villages and towns experienced Internet outages.”
The furore has prompted an IEC delegation, led by deputy Mohammed al-Alawneh, to visit the counting centre in question in an attempt to resolve the issue. The IEC hosted a meeting with constituency candidates which journalists were forbidden from entering.
Jreisat has insisted that the Salt election is "totally lacking in fairness" and is subject to “large loopholes." He also claims to have eyewitnesses from six voting stations where a number of individuals received "assistance" in voting on account of them being illiterate.
Unofficial preliminary results from local constituencies and state-wide lists suggested a new Jordanian parliament would be dominated by moderate parties, with some establishment figures and independent Islamists not affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Among the independent Islamists who are forecast to win seats are Bassam al-Battoush, Naif al-Laimoun and Moussa Sweilam. All three men used to belong to the Muslim Brotherhood.
According to the unofficial statistics, owners of local satellite channels are also projected to win seats in a new Jordanian parliament, including Zakariya al-Sheikh, Rola al-Haroub [who co-owns the Josat satellite channel with her husband, Riyad al-Haroub], Ahmed al-Ruqaibat [who owns Nourmina TV] and former director of state television, Assaf al-Shubaki.
Chairman of Jordan’s National Unity Party reportedly won a seat, despite being released from prison on bail after paying individuals for votes in the run-up to the election.
The politician with the highest number of votes in Jordan was veteran parliamentarian Khalil Attiya, who comes from a Palestinian background, earning 19,399 votes in total.
In response to allegations of voter fraud, a number of youth movements -- including the Islamist Youth Hirak -- have announced they will stage a march following Friday prayers this week, starting at King Abdullah al-Muassis Mosque in the al-Abdali district in downtown Amman. The march will reportedly finish at the House of Representatives itself.
A statement by the group described the elections as "a democratic and national funeral" and accused the regime of using the elections to "undermine fair and legitimate reformist demands" and "project an image to the world that it has crowned the reform with this parliamentary election."