PSD takes all necessary security procedures to facilitate voting process

The Public Security Department (PSD) has taken all the necessary security procedures to facilitate the voting process at all polling centres on July 31, Police Spokesperson Major Basheer Daaja said on Sunday.A large number of traffic police will be stationed in areas expected to witness traffic congestion on election day, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Daaja as saying.

He added that the PSD held workshops and lectures for its personnel taking part in the municipal elections, Petra reported.

Also yesterday, Minister of Municipal Affairs Nader Thuheirat and Minister of Interior Eid Fayez stressed the importance of taking part in the municipal elections to boost public participation in the decision-making process as well as selecting qualified municipal councils.

The ministers made the remarks during the meeting with heads of election committees across the country at Al Hussein Cultural Centre.

According to official figures, 2,706 candidates have registered to run for the positions of mayor and council member in 94 municipalities, including 360 women.

Earlier this year, the government endorsed the new Municipalities Law, which aims at fostering the participation of young people and women in elections.

Under the law, the age of eligible voters has been reduced from 19 to 18 years to expand the voter base. The legislation also allocates a minimum of 220 out of the 965 municipal council seats for women.

Last week, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs revealed a series of measures taken by the government to guarantee “smooth and transparent” polls, including the launch of a special website to help the public keep tabs on the election process.

Registered users can log on the website (www.moma.gov.jo) and use their national identity number to track down their polling stations and ballot box numbers.

Polling centres will open at 7:00am on July 31 for 10 hours. If the voter turnout is less than 51 per cent, they will remain open for another four hours.

The centres will open an extra day if the voter turnout does not meet the minimum requirement, but if the turnout remains below 51 per cent after second day of polling, the government will accept the votes cast.

In a bid to encourage large numbers of citizens to vote, the Municipal Affairs Ministry, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Development, has allocated wheelchairs for the disabled and senior citizens to enable them to take part in the elections.

The government hopes this year’s elections will witness a record-breaking turnout, with the number of registered voters exceeding 1.9 million, 50 per cent of them women.

The government announced earlier this month, that the Kingdom will observe a public holiday on July 31to allow the largest number of people to vote.