The polls opened for Jordan's parliamentary elections on Tuesday (September 20th), with more than 1.3 million people casting their votes, The Jordan Times reported.
The Civil Coalition for Monitoring Elections and the Performance of Elected Councils (Rasid) said the election process started "smoothly, proving the preparedness of Independent Election Commission cadres".
Coalition head Amer Bani Amer said 93% of polling centres opened on time at 7 a.m., the Jordanian news agency, Petra, reported.
Bani Amer said 92% of the polling stations have an intensified police presence, with two to three unarmed officers placed at each centre to ensure order.
Rasid has deployed 5,000 observers stationed at polling centres and 250 roaming observers, in addition to the teams at the central operations room and the communication team.
Meanwhile, the Jordan Bar Association, which is observing the elections for the first time, said it has deployed 300 observers around the kingdom.
The Arab League mission to observe parliamentary elections comprises 19 members from 12 Arab countries, and is deployed to Amman, Zarqa, Irbid, Balqa, Jerash, Mafraq, Ajloun, Madaba and Karak, head of the mission Khalil Thawadi said Monday.
A total of 13,398 national observers have been accredited by the IEC to monitor the elections, while 676 international observers have been accredited.
