Premier bans civil servant leaves ahead of polls

AMMAN – Prime Minister Hani Mulki has instructed all ministries and government departments to ban leaves for public sector employees on September 18 and 19, the two days that precede the upcoming parliamentary elections. 

In a circular sent to ministries and public agencies, a copy of which was made available to The Jordan Times, Mulki said not facilitating leaves for public servants aims at boosting public participation in the September 20 elections and because the Independent Election Commission (IEC) would need a "large" number of public sector employees in voting and sorting committees. 

On July 19, an informed source told The Jordan Times that the IEC would address the government with a request not to facilitate leaves for public sector employees on September 18 and 19. 

As the IEC is the sole authority in charge of the parliamentary elections, it has concerns that many Jordanians would take the two days ahead of the polls off to extend the expected long holiday of Eid Al Adha. 

The religious holiday is expected to start on September 10, and a holiday of at least five to seven days is expected, leaving a two-day gap leading to the Election Day, which will also be a holiday. Civil servants and private sector employees might seize the opportunity to travel abroad and skip the polls, the IEC fears, according to the source. 

As the commission is keen to see a good turnout for the upcoming polls, an official request was sent to the government to ban leaves on those two days on July 20. 

The number of civil servants stands at around 210,000, according to official figures. The number of eligible voters is 4.5 million.