Jordanians vote in parliamentary elections amid coronavirus outbreak

Jordanians go to polls to elect 130 members of the lower house of the parliament at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the country's already debt-ridden economy.

Polling stations opened across the kingdom at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Tuesday and will close 12 hours later, although a two-hour extension is possible.

Some 4.6 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots in Jordan’s 19th parliamentary elections.

A total of 1,674 candidates, including 360 women, are vying for 130 parliamentary seats, with 15 reserved for women, nine for Christians and three for minority Chechens and Circassians.

Parliament has limited authority in Jordan, where the king has wide powers and chooses the prime minister as well as the 65-member Senate.

In late September, King Abdullah II dissolved the parliament at the end of its four-year term amid popular discontent over economic woes, worsened by the coronavirus outbreak, and curbs on public freedoms under emergency laws.

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The government has maintained an election law that under-represents large cities where opposition backers are based and have Palestinian strongholds in favor of sparsely-populated tribal areas supportive of the monarchy.

Amer Bani Amer, director of Rased-Hayyat Center, which monitors the government and parliament, said the Islamic Action Front – the country's largest opposition faction – is fielding 41 candidates in the polls.

Politicians have appealed to the Jordanian people to participate in the elections despite calls for a boycott of what is believed to be a toothless tribal-dominated assembly packed with pro-government deputies.

“Our society is tribal but we have to encourage people to vote. I appeal to them to head to ballot boxes to make change,” Faisal al Fayez, a prominent politician and former premier and royal court chief, told state owned al-Mamlaka TV channel.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s Independent Election Commission said it has taken precautions to ensure social distancing and prevent overcrowding at polling stations.

Voters are required to wear face masks while their fingers will be marked with a dropper or spray instead of being dipped in ink.

"This vote is different, with people in greater distress because of the epidemic," said Oraib Rintawi of the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies.

Jordan has been among the hardest-hit countries by the coronavirus outbreak, with around 115,000 infections and 1,295 deaths so far.

The Middle Eastern country has built up a public debt that exceeds 100 percent of GDP. Its unemployment rate also increased to 23 percent in the second quarter of 2020 from 19.2 percent a year earlier. 

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