Jordanians vote in municipal, governorate council polls

Nearly 4.1 million Jordanians are eligible to vote in the election

By Laith al-Junidi

AMMAN (AA) – Jordanian voters went to polling centers on Tuesday to cast ballot in municipal and governorate council elections.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time (0400GMT) and will close at 7 p.m. (1600GMT).

A total of 6,622 candidates are vying for 2,109 seats in the local councils and 350 in governorate councils. Some 65 Islamists are competing in Tuesday's polls after a 14-year boycott.

Nearly 4.1 million Jordanians are eligible to vote in the election.

Women form the majority of voters in Jordan with their number exceeding 2.1 million or 53 percent of the total number of voters while the number of eligible male voters stands at 1.927 million or 47 percent.

Tuesday's vote is conducted by a new "decentralization" law that was adopted in 2015.

Under the law, each of Jordan’s 12 provinces will have an executive council, appointed by the government and headed by the governor, and a provincial council whose three-quarters of members will be elected while the government appoints the rest.

Kaynak:

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