AMMAN — Ballot boxes closed late Monday after 8,920 members of the
Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) across the Kingdom voted on a number of
controversial amendments on the association law.
اضافة اعلان
The proposed amendments were centered on reducing the
candidacy age to encourage young professionals to take part in decision making,
abolishing additional fees, and introducing an exam for “professional
practice.”
Earlier in the day, the JEA reported a "better than
expected" turnout as engineers across the Kingdom began voting on more
than 15 amendments to the JEA Law.
The JEA's deputy president, Fawzi Musaad, told
Jordan News that by mid-day, 4,270 association members cast
ballots, "which is excellent and more than we expected."
He said that the referendum was going smoothly and with ease. "We can say
that civilized conduct is back to the JEA". Musaad was referring to a state of chaos that
marred an extraordinary meeting of the general assembly, which was abruptly
adjourned due to verbal assaults and acts of violence, prompting the
association’s board to call for the referendum to be held at all the
association branches in Amman and the rest of the governorates. Results are
expected to be announced early Tuesday.
The amendments were adopted by the association’s board in November, amid
accusations that the association’s board did not follow correct procedures and
manipulated the system to have the changes endorsed during a mid-November
meeting of the JEA’s central committee, in which, according to the White List
in opposition (Islamists and independents) the association’s president, Ahmad
Samara Al-Zu’bi, acted in violation of the law and declared the amendments
approved without properly counting the votes.
The changes include the abolishment of fines levied on association members
defaulting on paying membership fees, rehabilitation of engineers, finding jobs
for members in sectors previously off-limit to them and changing the election
system, among others.
As a result of the controversy, four members of the association’s board,
including the head of the electrical engineering division, Malik Al-Amayreh,
who insisted in remarks to
Jordan News on Sunday that there was foul play in the endorsement process, resigned from
the board.
One of the four men, Seri Zeieter said that the opposition is not against the
amendments, but oppose the "illegal" manner in which they were
endorsed, as the council "did not consult elected bodies," especially
the central committee, whose approval is mandatory.
"The president faked the approval despite a motion signed by 120 members
of this committee rejecting the amendments," Zeiter said, echoing remarks
by Amayreh and other opponents.
Unionist and JEA member Mazen Al-Nabulsi said that he supported the amendments. “We have been waiting for those amendments
for the past 20 years. We need a modern law and flexibility for an association
that has 170,000 members, half of whom are young people.”
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