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.



UN Rights Office: At Least 12 Palestinians Killed in West Bank since Tuesday

An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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UN Rights Office: At Least 12 Palestinians Killed in West Bank since Tuesday

An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israeli operations in the West Bank have killed at least 12 Palestinians since Tuesday, the United Nations Human Rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said on Friday.

"Our office has verified that at least 12 Palestinians have been killed and 40 injured by Israeli security forces since Tuesday, most of them reportedly unarmed," he told a televised briefing.

"We are also concerned by repeated comments from some Israeli officials about plans to expand settlements further still and a fresh breach of international law. We recall again that the transfer by Israel of its own civilian population into territories it occupies also amounts to a war crime."

Hundreds of Jenin residents left their homes on Thursday, prompted by messages from drones fitted with loudspeakers, witnesses said, as the military demolished a number of houses on the third day of a major operation in the West Bank city.
The operation, involving large columns of vehicles backed by helicopters and drones, was launched in the first week of a ceasefire in Gaza that saw the first exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails since a brief truce in November 2023.
Israeli officials said the Jenin operation was aimed at what the military said were Iranian-backed militant groups in the refugee camp adjacent to the city, a major hub for armed Palestinian groups for years.