Polls Open in Jordan’s Parliamentary Elections 

A Jordanian voter casts his ballot at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Amman, Jordan September 10, 2024. (Reuters)
A Jordanian voter casts his ballot at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Amman, Jordan September 10, 2024. (Reuters)
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Polls Open in Jordan’s Parliamentary Elections 

A Jordanian voter casts his ballot at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Amman, Jordan September 10, 2024. (Reuters)
A Jordanian voter casts his ballot at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Amman, Jordan September 10, 2024. (Reuters)

Polling stations opened at across Jordan on Tuesday in the country’s 20th parliamentary elections, marking a significant milestone as the Kingdom embarks on its second century.

More than 5.1 million registered voters are eligible to participate, reflecting a broad engagement in the political process, reported the state news agency Petra.

People will cast their votes at 1,649 polling stations across 18 electoral districts, with 5,843 ballot boxes set up. Ninety-five centers have been specially equipped to accommodate voters with disabilities.

Jordan’s electoral system divides the Kingdom into 18 local districts, with 97 seats available for contest. Candidates in the general electoral district will compete for 41 seats, bringing the total number of parliamentary seats to 138.

A total of 697 candidates are running in the general electoral district, including 505 men and 192 women. In the local districts, 937 candidates are competing, with 747 men and 190 women.

Voting will close at 7:00 pm. The counting of votes will begin immediately after the polls close, with results expected within 48 hours.



Iraq’s FM: Israeli-Russian Hostage Tsurkov is Alive

Israeli-Russian Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov. AFP
Israeli-Russian Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov. AFP
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Iraq’s FM: Israeli-Russian Hostage Tsurkov is Alive

Israeli-Russian Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov. AFP
Israeli-Russian Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov. AFP

Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who is being held hostage by an Iraqi militia, is alive and the Iraqi prime minister is working on her release, Iraqi foreign minister Fouad Hussein told Axios reporter Barak Ravid on Thursday.

Tsurkov, a 38-year-old student at Princeton University, disappeared in Baghdad in March 2023 while doing research for her doctorate. She had entered the country on her Russian passport.

The only sign she was alive has been a video broadcast in November 2023 on an Iraqi television station and circulated on pro-Iranian social media purporting to show her.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. But Israel believes she is being held by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia.