AMMAN - Around 54 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots in Tuesday's legislative elections, that saw at least one woman elected outside of the six-seat women's quota and a number of arrests related to vote-buying.
In addition, the mostly calm voting process witnessed "minor" clashes among supporters.
The highest turnout was recorded in Tafileh with 82 per cent and the lowest in Amman's 2nd District with 32 per cent.
His Majesty King Abdullah, who on several occasions underlined the need for all to take part in choosing their representatives in the 15th Parliament, on Tuesday visited the Ministry of Interior where he was briefed on procedures taken to facilitate voting.
"Elections were conducted in a smooth and encouraging manner," said Interior Minister Eid Fayez at the end of the polling process as vote counting was under way.
As names of winners started to be announced late Tuesday and early Wednesday, firecrackers lighted the night skies and gunshots sounded in different parts of the Kingdom.
The first winner to be announced was Wasfi Rawashedeh from Shobak, garnering 2,198 votes.
Among the heavyweights confirmed by initial results as deputies in the 2007-2011 Parliament were former Lower House speaker Abdul Hadi Majali, who collected 4,161 votes in Karak's 2nd District, former prime minister Abdur-Ra'uf S. Rawabdeh (Irbid's 2nd District with 3,351 votes), former deputy prime minister Abdul Karim Dughmi (Mafraq, 6,658 votes), and Khalil Attiyeh, who harvested the highest number of votes in Amman's 1st District in 2003. This time, he managed 14,275 votes, down by about 5,000 votes, compared to previous elections.
By press time, results of key districts like Amman's 2nd and 3rd, Irbid 1st and Zarqa 1st were not announced.
Initial results, which are to be confirmed at a press conference due to be held today, showed heavyweight Islamists like Abdul Latif Arabiyat and other Islamic Action Front (IAF) candidates losing to their rivals.
In Madaba, former MP Falak Jamaani claimed victory after getting 3,301 votes to be the first woman to win a Lower House seat without resorting to the women's quota since 1989.
High voter turnouts by Tuesday evening, with voters waiting in lines at some ballot stations, prompted Amman's Governor Saad Manaseer to extend the voting deadline by two hours in Amman's 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th districts.
Fayez said security forces apprehended several individuals for vote-buying in Balqa and Amman, noting that they will be referred to courts of law. Authorities also reported the arrest of 15 men while attempting to "manipulate" identification cards, but no further details were disclosed.
Police officials reported skirmishes in Karak, Mafraq, Ajloun, Maan, Irbid and Deir Alla in the Jordan Valley where supporters of rival candidates were engaged in fistfights and in some occasions threw stones at each other. The situation was immediately brought under control with no injuries reported, according to Public Security Department Spokesman Basheer Daaja.
The IAF issued a statement accusing the government of "facilitating voting crimes that took place in the last hours of the voting period".
"Vote-rigging increased either through flagrant vote-buying or inserting large amounts of voting cards in ballot boxes in Amman's 4th, 5th and 6th districts as well as in Aqaba, Ruseifa, Jerash, Ajloun, Zarqa and others," said the statement by the IAF election higher committee, posted on the party's website.
The organisation claimed that the violations are taking place "under the watchful eyes of the government".
"What is happening is an attempt to change vote results in the final hours," the statement added.
Buses carrying supporters of candidates from Amman and Balqa were seen moving voters from Baqaa refugee camp towards Amman and Balqa.
The majority of passengers were women from this impoverished camp.
Technical difficulties were reported in some polling stations including the southern city of Karak, in which computers froze in some cases and were too slow in others, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
Bad weather in the southern part of the Kingdom prevented many voters in Amman from reaching polling centres, according to eyewitnesses.
Blinding sandstorms led to the closure of the main highway linking the capital to the south, causing stoppages that lasted four hours (see story on page 3).
More than 90,000 civil servants were mobilised to take part in election process, in addition to 40,000 police officers who were deployed to maintain order and security at polling stations, according to Fayez.
As many as 2,800 ballot boxes were allocated to 45 districts across the Kingdom.
About 880 candidates, including a record 199 women, competed for the Parliament's 110 seats.
Khalid Neimat, Mohammad Ghazal and Hana Namrouqa contributed to this report
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
© Jordan Times 2007
