JORDAN- On Thursday, 17th of August, protesting crowd took over several regions in Jordan protesting to the outcome of the just concluded Municipal election. In stance to reject the result as announced on Wednesday night by officials of the electoral board, Asharq Awsat News reports that there has been unrest in a number of areas of Jordan as citizen troop out in counts, demanding a recount of votes.
According to the protesters, the display is never to disrupt peace in the land but to demand fairness in the pool. Mohamed Al-Daameh, on Asharq Awsat news while recounting the story, reports that: ‘no one was injured in the unrest’ and that according to security source, protesters were simply ‘demanding a recount of the vote that they claimed was flawed.’
According to event details, Mohamed Al-Daameh highlighted some areas of significance where the presence of the protest was pronounced. He disclosed that ‘rioters blocked with burning tires the al-Tayba roundabout in the Irbid province in northern Jordan before …security forces intervened to disperse them using tear gas.’ The reporter further confirmed that ‘similar unrest was seen in the al-Karak province.’
During the building up of the protest, ‘two power plants in the al-Hashemiya and Rawdat al-Amir Rashed were’ reportedly ‘shut down by rioters, but electricity was soon restored to the affected areas,’ Mohamed Al-Daameh stated.
Reacting to the situation, Mohammed Al-Momani, the Information Minister and official government spokesman called the outcry as a “shameful” display from the mob. He disclosed afterwards that the perpetrator is known by security agents and a good number of them are already under arrest.
“What happened does not reflect us, our state or our society.”
The Information Minister however applauded the electoral process. While ‘commenting on the victory of youth and women leaderships in the elections,’ Al-Daameh reports that the information minister noted that the victory ‘indicates that the electoral process achieved a major political goal that saw the expansion of the base of participation in decision-making.’
Mohammed Al-Momani in his statement underscored the “awareness of the Jordanian society and its acceptance of diversity,” which according to him “assert the essence of the democratic process.” He thereafter added that “participating in elections is the right of all members of society,” urging the people to “rise above” partisanship.
Rreporter: Ridwan A Olayiwola
