VZCZCXRO9339
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #3284/01 2141346
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021346Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9760
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 AMMAN 003284 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ELA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KISL KWMN JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS: "A WEDDING FOR 
DEMOCRACY," ACCORDING TO OFFICIALS 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 3241 
     ¶B. AMMAN 3240 
     ¶C. 03 AMMAN 4737 
 
Summary:  "The Wedding for Democracy" 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) In contrast to 2003 (in which all mayors and half of 
municipal council members were appointed; ref C), this year's 
municipal elections generated a high national turnout and 
high enthusiasm, as well as some controversy that resulted in 
scattered disruptions and violence in the country.  This 
cable describes atmospherics at the various voting sites 
visited by six Embassy teams on election-day.  Voting 
officials and some voters proudly hailed the elections as a 
"wedding for democracy."  End Summary. 
 
Ministry of Municipal Affairs Revved Up 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Six Embassy teams of two persons each (one emboff 
with one FSN) gathered at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, 
which was decorated with huge Jordanian flags and a portrait 
of the King, early on election-day, July 31.  There, Embassy 
teams were joined by official Ministry facilitators assigned 
to travel with the teams to various voting centers in Amman, 
Irbid, Karak, Madaba, Salt/Jerash/Zarqa and Zarqa/Ruseifa. 
The excitement in the air at the Ministry was palpable. 
Ministry officials were staffing a media information center 
and an operations center filled with phones, computers, 
dedicated fax machines for each of the governorates, walls 
decked with maps of the municipalities and staff closely 
following turnout trends just after polls opened at 7 a.m. 
Mohammad Wakeel, a well-known Jordanian radio personality was 
broadcasting his popular morning show, called "Honestly with 
Wakeel," from a studio in the Ministry, encouraging people to 
vote.  As the day progressed, the operations center followed 
voter turnout, which picked up as the day went on, then into 
the evening followed the results as they trickled into Amman 
from around the country.  The six Embassy teams visited over 
40 polling centers throughout the day. 
 
Banners, Posters, Campaigners and Voters 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) As the teams went out to various parts of Jordan, 
several constants greeted each of the teams during their 
visits.  The teams were taken to governorate buildings in 
which the municipalities were located and had tea with the 
Governors or their representatives while they arranged for 
facilitators.  The town centers were covered with colorful 
campaign banners hanging above the streets and over town 
squares with walls covered in candidate posters from across 
the political spectrum. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Polling stations were located primarily in public 
and private schools throughout the country.  Men and women 
had their own segregated voting centers, except in very small 
towns such as one near Karak where men and women voted in the 
same centers and in the same room.  In front of polling 
stations, large crowds of campaigners and voters gathered, 
with campaigners clamoring for votes, passing out campaign 
fliers and business cards with photos and names of 
candidates.  At women's polling stations, these campaigners 
were usually young girls or hijab-clad women with colored 
sashes for their candidates (green for the IAF-Islamist 
candidates for most areas, yellow for IAF in Madaba). 
Campaign poster-plastered cars, taxis, buses, vans and 
pick-up trucks, rented out by campaigns, were also ferrying 
voters to and from crowded polling places. 
 
Inside the Polls and the Voting Process 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Polling stations varied in terms of crowds, 
orderliness and atmosphere.  In more affluent areas of towns, 
the centers were more orderly and less so in other parts of 
town, but this was often a reflection of time of day (more 
voters later in the day) or number of voters registered to 
vote in that particular polling station.  Every polling 
center included multiple rooms in which voters would vote. 
Voters were sent to a certain room in which to vote based on 
their first names.  Upon entering the rooms, the voters would 
see a table with about five voting committee members who 
administered the election, varying numbers of candidate 
representatives who had the right to observe voting (and who 
occasionally crossed off names off their own voting lists), 
two transparent plexi-glass boxes and a gas light in case of 
electricity failure.  The ballot boxes were numbered by 
 
AMMAN 00003284  002 OF 005 
 
 
municipality and by the number of voters for that box, and 
voter lists were linked with ballot boxes, meaning an 
individual voter could only vote in the room where their 
corresponding ballot box was located. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Upon entering, the voters would give the voting 
committee president their identification cards and their 
names would be crossed off a voting list with a pen after the 
committee clerk would check name, date of birth and i.d. 
number.  Women in niqab (complete face coverings) were 
occasionally asked to show their faces to women police 
officers to confirm identity though this was not always done 
in locations visited by emboffs.  Voting committee members 
underlined that the voting lists with the crossed off names 
would remain part of the public record, and that candidates 
had the voting lists and knew who should vote where.  If 
there were discrepancies between i.d. cards and the voting 
lists, voters were not allowed to vote.  The voters whose 
names were on the lists would then be given two ballots 
(similar to a quarter of a piece of paper), one white, one 
green, both with a governorate stamp and the signature of the 
committee president.  The candidates would then go to a 
voting table where they would stand and with a pen write in 
the names of the candidates they were voting for, one name on 
each ballot:  green for mayor, white for council member. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Lists of candidate names, usually computer-printed, 
but occasionally hand-written, were taped to the wall near 
the voting desks; one list for mayoralty candidates and one 
for council members.  In most municipalities, there were not 
voting booths but partitions separating voting desks.  In 
Zarqa, polling stations had voting booths with curtains. 
The voter would then fold the ballot in half, and place in 
one of the two transparent boxes - the mayor ballot in a 
green-topped box and the member ballot in a white-topped box. 
 Nothing was done to mark voters as having voted other than 
the crossing off their names from the voter lists; no marks 
were made to the i.d. cards as was done in previous 
elections, and fingers were not dipped in ink. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The diversity of Jordanian society could be seen in 
women's voting centers.  In Palestinian areas, they were 
awash with dresses with Palestinian embroidery, often with 
100 per cent of voters in hijab (head-covering).  In 
Christian areas, ladies in black outfits and crosses on their 
necklaces would eagerly place their votes in the ballot 
boxes.  In many areas, women voted with babies and children 
in tow giving young children their first taste of the 
democratic process, and in some cases police officers held 
small babies as the mother voted.  Husbands were not allowed 
into women's voting centers, and policewomen were on had to 
handle any identification or security issues (more on women 
and these elections septel). 
 
Demanding their Vote: Illiterate or Elderly 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Illiterate, elderly and disabled voters were taken 
care of.  Each polling station had a wheel-chair provided by 
the Ministry of Social Development, and hosts of the Embassy 
visit teams were eager to show them off.  Illiterate voters 
who could not write had the option of voting orally.  This 
method varied across municipalities.  Throughout the country, 
illiterate voters cast ballots by whispering to the election 
committee president, by saying out loud to the whole 
committee for whom they were voting, or even by pointing at 
photos of candidates as was seen in Karak and Irbid; 
candidate photo sheets were produced by several 
municipalities on their own initiative.  Voting committee 
presidents would then write down those votes on the ballot 
papers and sometimes show them to the candidates' observers 
and then place them in the ballot boxes. 
 
¶10. (SBU) In Karak, emboffs saw voting committee presidents 
not allow people to vote orally if they said they could read 
and write.  Some voters just preferred to vote orally.  In 
Madaba, one sick elderly man with a drip hanging out of his 
arm voted, but refused the assistance of the wheel-chair.  In 
Karak, an elderly man in an Arabic head-dress and two canes 
demanded his right to vote and cast his ballot based on the 
candidate photos.  The gentleman told the committee that he 
did not know who to vote for, so he pointed at and voted for 
the only candidate pictured with a head-dress, and none of 
the candidate observers objected to the vote.  Also in Karak, 
a blind person voted, led in by his father who wrote in the 
voter's choices. 
 
Inside a Campaign HQ on Election Day 
------------------------------------ 
 
AMMAN 00003284  003 OF 005 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) Several Embassy teams visited campaign headquarters 
on election-day.  Like in the U.S., the campaigns were 
focused on getting their voters to the polls, keeping close 
tabs on voter turnout and in making sure their supporters 
knew where they were supposed to vote.  Campaigns passed out 
to their supporters business cards with candidate names, 
voter names and ballot box numbers where those voters were 
registered to vote.  In Amman, supporters were given 
computer-printed cards, reminding voters whom to vote for and 
where to vote. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Election tents were set up near voting stations 
where candidates and supporters could greet voters and try to 
garner last-second support as voters headed into polling 
stations.  Campaigns were hearing from supporters and their 
poll center observers about the level of turnout, which 
dictated how they marshalled their remaining support as the 
day went on. 
 
¶13. (SBU) At one campaign headquarters in the 
multi-confessional town of Madaba, contacts from the 
Christian community told poloff on election-day that elements 
of the GOJ were actively working with the anti-IAF political 
forces in Madaba, including the Christians and other 
nationalists.  A campaign worker told poloff that the GID had 
been in touch with local leaders in various communities to 
rally support behind a government-supported candidate, and 
pointed to a person he claimed was a GID official in the 
campaign headquarters assisting on election-day.  The 
campaign worker was not enthused about supporting the 
government-backed candidate, saying, "I would not vote for 
him, but the government and our leaders want us to so we 
will."  The government-backed candidate won the mayoralty of 
Madaba. 
 
Counting the Votes 
------------------ 
 
¶14. (SBU) As polls closed at about 5 p.m. in most 
municipalities, the ballot boxes were sealed with masking 
tape and with wax seals.  The boxes were then turned over to 
counting committees, often in the same room where voting took 
place, but occasionally sent to central vote-tallying 
centers.  In Irbid, boxes were opened and ballots were neatly 
stacked in one pile and they were read out loud, one by one. 
The votes would be recorded on a chalkboard in the school 
room by a tick mark in each square for the candidate as the 
candidate representatives observed.  Illegible or blank 
ballots were separated as invalid, as were ballots placed in 
the wrong boxes (mayoralty ballots in council boxes and vice 
versa).  After being counted, the ballots were partially torn 
and given to a second and then third member of vote-counting 
committees to count the number of ballots to ensure that the 
number of ballots matched the number of voters crossed off 
the voter lists. 
 
¶15. (SBU) In the village of Mazar outside of Irbid, the 
atmosphere was jubilant as villagers cheered the arrival of 
ballot boxes at the centralized counting center from around 
the municipality after the polls closed at 9 p.m., having 
been reopened for four additional hours in order to reach the 
50 per cent plus one voter turnout requirement for a quorum. 
Most other municipalities conducted counting in the same 
rooms as the voting. 
 
Notes from the Field 
-------------------- 
 
¶16. (SBU) Amman:  Voting centers in rural areas of the 
sprawling Amman municipality were orderly and mellow compared 
to the overly-crowded polling stations in the city.  Six 
Amman polling stations were opened for a second day on August 
1 because of a lack of the 50 per cent plus one voter turnout 
required for a quorum.  In general, Amman voters were less 
excited than outside of Amman, as the mayoralty of Amman will 
be appointed and only half of the municipal council will be 
elected, probably accounting for the low turnout in Amman. 
However, those that did vote were enthusiastic about taking 
part in the election. 
 
¶17. (SBU) Irbid:  Irbid extended its voting hours to about 
9:00 p.m. in the hopes of garnering the required number of 
voters for a quorum.  Also in Irbid, visibly angry supporters 
of Islamic Action Front (IAF) candidate Nabil Kofahi told 
emboffs that Army buses were transporting soldiers to the 
polls where they all allegedly were voting for the 
pro-government Mayoral candidate Abdulrauf Al Tal, though 
embassy observers did not witness any buses transporting 
 
AMMAN 00003284  004 OF 005 
 
 
soldiers to the polls.  The team also reported the late 
arrival of many Irbid voters from Amman, who drove up to 
Irbid to vote late in order to try to get Irbid enough voters 
to allow the vote to be official. 
 
¶18. (SBU) Karak:  Emboffs encountered a Jordanian-American 
voting who said that it was easier to register and vote in 
Karak than in the U.S.  Emboffs reported that IAF presence in 
the Karak municipality was negligible.  Also in Karak, one 
soldier tried to vote showing his military i.d. card.  He was 
not allowed to vote because his name was not on the voter 
list - an interesting counter-example to IAF's claims of 
improper military voting. 
 
¶19. (SBU) Madaba:  Emboffs reported a very high, visible 
turnout in the Palestinian camp area, much higher than in 
other areas of the city.  The camp area in the run-up to the 
election was considered an IAF stronghold, but election-day 
appearances seemed to suggest an outpouring of support for 
independent Hamed al Zen, of Palestinian origin.  His posters 
appeared jointly with those of council candidate Hajj Abed Al 
Darabeneh (who was courted by the IAF candidate prior to 
election day), one of the few instances of apparent running 
mates in the election. 
 
¶20. (SBU) At about 12:00 p.m., local police closed the center 
of Madaba following demonstrations and clashes near the 
governorate building.  The closure emptied streets and forced 
local businesses to close in the center of the town.  Reports 
indicated that large groups of supporters of a pro-government 
candidate  - a contact reported that these were three groups 
of illiterate soldiers being bused in to vote - began yelling 
the name of the candidate they were supporting in a voting 
center, leading the supporters of an opposing IAF candidate 
to take exception to the chanting.  A fist-fight ensued, 
leading to the burning of tires.  Cars and property were 
damaged and gunshots were fired toward the governorate 
building.  Riot police were called in and order was restored. 
 
 
¶21. (SBU) The Embassy team in Madaba was meeting with local 
contacts in a campaign headquarters during the melee until 
the situation was confirmed to be under control.  The Embassy 
team was advised to depart Madaba by Jordanian police through 
the RSO earlier than planned due to the disturbances, and did 
so. 
 
¶22. (SBU) Salt/Jerash/Zarqa:  Salt was the only governorate 
site testing Oracle election software.  Engineer Amjad 
Ma'abreh from private company PALCO, an Oracle partner, was 
the chief operator.  A governorate election operations center 
was receiving hourly updates via phone and fax to record the 
number of voters at all of the governorate's approximately 
100 polling stations.  Polling personnel had not heard the 
about the IAF withdrawal in the afternoon and as elsewhere, 
IAF candidate names remained on the ballot (ref B).  Despite 
heavy traffic jams and crowds at polling centers, Zarqa 
voters had about a 15 minute wait to cast their votes.  In 
Jerash, emboffs were told that the UNRWA Palestinian refugee 
camp was not taking part in the municipal election.  NOTE: 
About 120,000 Palestinian refugees residing in Jordan who 
arrived since 1967 from Gaza do not have full citizenship 
rights and do not vote in elections.  END NOTE. 
 
¶23. (SBU) Zarqa/Ruseifa: Polling in Zarqa and Ruseifa was 
orderly amid a large security presence throughout the two 
towns that are traditionally IAF strongholds.  IAF green 
sashes were prevalent among campaigners.  Zarqa and Ruseifa 
were the only municipalities where curtains were provided for 
voter privacy.  A crisis arose in one center when a voting 
committee official spilled tea on a pile of ballots.  After 
consulting with higher-ups, the ballots were set aside and 
clean ballots were used.  Ruseifa also had the only woman 
member of a voting committee that Embassy teams came across. 
The voting committees were appointed by the Ministry of 
Municipal Affairs to implement the election process, though 
most centers seemed to have a heavy Ministry of Interior 
presence. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶24. (SBU) Embassy teams were openly welcomed in all 
municipalities they visited.  The Ministry of Municipal 
Affairs that organized the election provided excellent 
support to the Embassy teams - so much so that an Embassy 
soccer team will play a Ministry soccer team in August in a 
case of sports diplomacy.  The Jordanians were excited to be 
able to share their elections with the world, and in multiple 
 
AMMAN 00003284  005 OF 005 
 
 
locations Jordanian officials at the polling stations and 
some voters referred to the process as a "wedding for 
democracy."  Polling officials and voters (including some IAF 
supporters in Zarqa and Irbid), were happy to see American 
Embassy visitors and eagerly passed to the teams their 
campaign materials.  The atmosphere at polling stations was 
enthusiastic and professional.  Incidents of violence and the 
IAF "withdrawal" from the election did create an air on 
controversy in some measure (ref B).  Nevertheless, the 
overall impression of the Embassy's visiting teams was that 
the election was held in an enthusiastic atmosphere among 
voters, and that election officials were taking their 
administration of the election seriously, with a view to 
transparency and sharing that process with our teams during 
election-day. 
 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
 
 
Hale