Jordan polls marred by fatality; voter turnout 53 per cent (Roundup)

Nov 9, 2010, 18:23 GMT

Amman - Jordanians voted Tuesday in parliamentary elections that saw the killing of one person, the injury of two and the arrest of at least 20.

Polls across the kingdom closed at 7 pm (0500 GMT), 12 hours after opening. Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Shehab said there was no need to extend voting time.

Vote counting began immediately afterwards and initial results were expected within hours, he added.

The fatality and the two injuries occurred in the Karak area, 120 kilometres south of Amman, during a shootout between supporters of rival candidates.

At least 20 people were arrested in Madaba, west of Amman, after they tried to prevent people from voting.

Security and police forces also intervened to deal with several election quarrels, stone-throwing incidents and attempts to thwart the polling process, which mostly occurred in rural and Bedouin areas, where tribalism and kinship still reign, media reports said.

The state-run media and the National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) said the polling process was completed in a 'smooth manner', except for minor violations that included the use of false IDs and attempts of multiple voting.

Shehab said that the turnout throughout the country was 53 per cent, with the ratio of voters to those registered being as low as 34 per cent in the capital Amman and 36 per cent in the country's second largest city of Zarqa.

The Interior Ministry said that 2.37 million citizens were eligible to vote, but analysts suggested that the turnover could be lower when taking into account the considerable number of citizens who opted not to register for the elections.

Analysts attributed the low turnover in Amman mainly to the boycott of elections by the country's main opposition grouping, the Muslim Brotherhood movement, and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF).

Islamists decided to boycott the polls, saying they were afraid of the repetition of 'rigging' that occurred in the 2007 elections.

A total of 763 candidates, including 143 women competed for the lower house's 120 seats, 12 of which are reserved for women under a quota system.

Official statistics indicated that 86 candidates ran as members of political parties, but analysts noted that tribal, family and factional affiliations would be the crucial factor in the outcome of the polls.

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