4,647 candidates to run for governorate, municipal elections — IEC

AMMAN — The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Monday said the total number of registered candidates who will run for the governorate and municipal elections’ race later this month was 4,647, according to an IEC spokesperson.

The last day for candidates’ saw the withdrawal of 144 candidates from the race, including 16 females, IEC Spokesperson Mohammad Rawashdeh said.

“Of the 4,647 candidates, 846 were women,” the IEC official told The Jordan Times.

The elections are slated to take place on March 22 whereby the registered candidates will compete for a total of 1,135 seats.

Last week, the IEC announced that 13.3 million ballot papers were printed with security marks for the upcoming elections with three colours: One for the city council presidency seat, one for the city council membership seat and one for the governorate seat.

Meanwhile, the IEC official said the IEC is currently investigating five cases related to the alleged "use of money to influence voters”.

“We had a total of 32 cases that we investigated over the past few days, but they were all either closed or the candidates were contacted to resolve the matter,” Rawashdeh noted.

He added that “there were 302 reported violations related to election campaigns such as starting the campaigns early by using posters or through the media”.

The committee is also examining these violations and have taken some action by taking down some violating ads and posters, according to Rawashdeh.

According to the IEC official, the “majority of these violations did not have any direct effect on the candidacy and elections process”.

Some 4,602,135 people, including 2,437,340 women, are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.

There will be 1,845 polling stations that will, for the time being, contain 6,907 ballot boxes. The number could decrease or increase based on future needs. 

The Cabinet has decided to hold governorate and municipal council elections in November. 

The Cabinet also approved the Amman Municipal Council Election Law and electoral appeals for 2021.