IEC prints 13.3m ballot papers for upcoming local elections

AMMAN — The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has printed 13.3 million ballot papers with security marks for the upcoming governorate and municipal elections, according to IEC Chairman Khaled Al Kalaldeh.

The ballot papers come in three colours: One for the city council presidency seat, one for the city council membership seat and one for the governorate seat, Kalaldeh told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the IEC official said that Friday will be the last day for voters wishing to contest the candidacy of individuals who have registered to run for elections.

“We have six voters who contested the candidacy of six people at the Court of First Instance in their district,” according to Kalaldeh.

The number of registered candidates stands at over 4,000, IEC Spokesperson Mohammad Rawashdeh told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

The candidates will be competing for 1,135 seats in total. 

The IEC official also said the commission is currently investigating over 230 violations related to money and election campaign violations.

The governorate and municipal elections are scheduled for March 22.

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 any future needs.

The candidates and seats are distributed as follows according to Rawashdeh: 572 candidates competing for 100 city council presidency seats; 3,089 candidates competing for city council membership seats; 1,048 candidates competing for 289 governorate membership seats, while 111 registered to compete for 28 seats at the Greater Amman Municipality.

The Cabinet 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.