Curfew-defying election celebrations spark outrage on social media platforms

AMMAN — Viral photos of festive firing, curfew violations and big gatherings following the announcement of parliamentary election results on Wednesday sparked outrage on social media. 

Videos were posted online of some citizens firing guns in celebration and holding “national weddings” (big gatherings celebrating a politically-related win) whilst breaking the four-day lockdown imposed by the government with the purpose of preventing these phenomena from happening.

“Were we not locked up for four days, with many day labourers and small business owners not being able to work and feed their children in this weather, so that these ridiculous and reckless practises can be prevented?” read a tweet by Ahmad Adawi, an engineer.

Adawi asked: “Is the lockdown only imposed on citizens with no power or guns? Are those wealthy or powerful enough to win parliamentary campaigns allowed to challenge the government’s decisions?”

After videos of a military-camouflage truck which was surrounded by dozens of men firing guns went viral, the Public Security Directorate announced on Thursday that the shooters were arrested and the vehicle and the guns were seized.

The men, who were celebrating their candidates’ win in Maan, were shown firing continuously through a two-minute video.

“This is just infuriating. These people are breaking curfew and recklessly risking lives by firing guns and holding gatherings, but when the coronavirus infects me or my family I will not find a hospital bed while they will,” tweeted Roaa Qadoumi, a political science graduate.

“Those who are powerful enough to break curfew are also powerful enough to use nepotism and be given priority when diagnosed with COVID-19, while we get locked down, follow strict health procedures and still be served last,” Qadoumi added.

Minister of State and Media Affairs Ali Ayed said in a statement that the government “will not tolerate practises of celebration that risk citizens’ health and threaten homeland security.”

Ayed noted that the government will “take legal measures against all those who gravely violated defence orders during the polling and result days of the election,” adding that “the Jordanian government, represented by all its pillars, will not be lenient in applying the law against everyone who was shown in videos as violating defence orders, whether through gatherings, gunfire or other violations that affect the security and peace of the Kingdom.”

The minister said that the government has “monitored all the videos that showed a clear violation of defence orders across the Kingdom,” highlighting that “gatherings, in particular, pose a threat to the safety of citizens in light of the coronavirus pandemic.”

In Jerash, a video was posted of a man firing a weapon similar to that of a cannon. 

The PSD later announced that its forces “immediately arrested the person and seized the weapon in his possession,” with the weapon being identified as a sound cannon “used to protect agricultural crops from birds”.

He added, in a press release, on Thursday, that the security services are still dealing with a limited riot by a number of people in the Wadi Al Seer area in the capital.

However, the firings, gatherings and curfew violations were defended by some social media users.

In a viral tweet that triggered thousands of replies, Hiba Tarawneh, a university student, said that “people should stop acting as if these phenomena are new and start respecting the traditions of tribes and the celebration of people.”

While some replies agreed with Tarawneh, most replies noted that “harmful traditions that endanger hundreds of citizens through gunfire and thousands more through a deadly virus are not, in any way, to be held or celebrated by Jordanian society,” as Mohammad Khaled, a lawyer, wrote on Twitter.

The Ministry of Interior confirmed that “legal and administrative measures were taken against supporters of some parliamentary candidates who violated defence orders and endangered citizens’ lives.”

The Ministry noted that while some videos circulating on social media are old, those that were confirmed to be new are “being dealt with by the concerned authorities and the participants will be arrested and then referred to the competent judicial authorities”.

Calling for the need for a “sense of national responsibility to be felt by everyone, especially in light of the developments in the epidemiological situation in the Kingdom and the increase of the number of coronavirus cases,” the ministry stressed that “true national pride is not celebrated in a manner that has negative consequences on the citizens’ health and safety”.