Jan 24, 2013
AMMAN -- Local, Arab and international observers on Thursday said this year's parliamentary elections had gone smoothly, but pointed out some shortcomings that need to be addressed in future polls.
The Arab League's observer mission said Wednesday's elections were free and transparent, adding that the Jordanian people exercised their right to vote without coercion or interference.
Speaking at a press conference to announce the observer mission's findings, Wajih Hanafi, the head of the Arab League team, said observers were present at 19 polling stations in nine different districts.
"Twenty-one experts from eight Arab countries were part of the Arab League's observer mission," he added.
Hanafi named preparedness, timeliness, IT infrastructure and freedom to vote among the positive points recorded by the Arab League's mission.
He was critical, however, of the heads of some polling stations who lacked knowledge of the procedures and rules, adding that some of them refused to cooperate on certain issues because they had "no orders" to do otherwise, although he commended others' cooperation.
Hanafi also cited promotional materials inside polling stations and heavy deployment of Public Security Department personnel among the negatives.
Also on Thursday, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) observer delegation, which included 50 observers from 29 countries, said the parliamentary elections had shown a marked improvement in procedures and administration from past polls, but added that it had found several shortcomings and irregularities.
They said the improvements should give competitors and voters in this and future elections more confidence that their votes are counted fairly.
The mission's leader, Jorge Quiroga, former president of Bolivia, said one of the chief improvements was the creation of the Independent Elections Commission (IEC), which instituted significant improvements in the process.
These included pre-printed, standardised ballots; assigning voters to specific polling stations; improving procedures for processing voters; enhancing counting procedures; posting results at individual polling stations; and instituting new procedures for challenging results.
On election day, he added, NDI observers found voting materials present at most locations and noted that most polling places were set up properly and opened within minutes of the scheduled time, noting that polling station staff appeared to be well trained.
However, Quiroga said the delegation had also observed a number of shortcomings in the process.
"The unequal size of districts and an electoral system that amplifies family, tribal and national cleavages limit the development of a truly national legislative body and challenge His Majesty King Abdullah's stated aim of encouraging full parliamentary government," Quiroga said.
"If King Abdullah is to give concrete expression to his promise to involve parliament in the naming of the prime minister and the formation of government, he will also have to work to unite individuals and groups in pursuit of national policies and agendas and encourage the formation of like-minded coalitions," he added.
The NDI mission put forward a number of recommendations that it said could enhance the integrity of future elections and build citizens' confidence, such as strengthening the electoral framework by reviewing the Elections Law and regulations to encourage political competition and the formation of coalitions and political parties.
Other recommendations included the development of a professional, permanent cadre of election workers and appointing commissioners for mandates that extend beyond the election cycle.
The NDI mission drew on the findings of a pre-election assessment mission completed by the institute in November, as well as the analysis of long-term observers who have been in the country since December 15.
Meanwhile, the local Integrity Coalition for Election Observation (Nazaha) said there were "flaws" in the implementation of election procedures at a number of polling stations that might have affected election results.
"Nazaha is worried about the developments that took place in the last few hours of the elections, especially extending the voting time by one hour," the coalition's president, Mohammad Husseini, said, as quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
"We will examine the data collected from our observers to establish if these developments had any impact on the elections' outcome," he added.
But Husseini said the vast majority of Nazaha observers had managed to carry out their duties inside the voting halls without interruption, Petra reported.
The coalition highlighted that the process was "good" overall in terms of procedures and applying the law, but Nazaha called for addressing issues such as vote buying and tribal influence to ensure more transparency and integrity in future polls.
Husseini said the coalition had recorded some cases of citizens being threatened and instances of violence in a number of polling stations.
The coalition commended measures taken by the IEC and security agencies against those proven to have bought and sold votes, including arresting and investigating those suspected of being involved.
"This is a positive indicator, especially compared with the 2007 and 2010 elections," the coalition said.
According to IEC figures, 7,020 local election observers and 385 international observers monitored the elections, in addition to 134 international guests.
Guest observers include foreign diplomats and other officials interested in observing election procedures without plans to issue an official report, according to the IEC website. They were given special permits.
© Jordan Times 2013
