AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs and government spokesperson
Faisal Al-Shboul said that the government is committed to applying Defense Order 35 to
all facilities, but that it is not contemplating taking new measures in view of
the current rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.
اضافة اعلان
Shboul told
Jordan News that the decision to
postpone governorate councils, municipal councils, and Greater Amman
Municipality Council elections is the remit of the
Independent Election Commission (IEC), and has nothing to do with the government, adding that the
Ministry of Local Administration announced that the elections will be held
according to plan, but then, the entire matter is in responsibility of the IEC.
On a different note, Shboul said that it is too
early to talk about decisions that could be taken during the holy month of
Ramadan, as all decisions will be based on the epidemiological situation at the
time.
IEC official
spokesman Mohammad Rawashdeh told
Jordan News that, so far, the plan is
to hold elections on time, adding that “we hope that the current wave of
infections subsides before the election date, slated for March 22, “so that we
do not have to postpone it. However, we are monitoring carefully the
epidemiological situation in Jordan, and if the situation is not as good as we
wish, we might resort to postponing the elections”.
Rawashdeh said that if elections are held on time,
“we will apply safety measures strictly, so that citizens can exercise their
electoral right safely”.
Rawashdeh also
said that the commission is responsible for developments within the polling
centers only; “what happens outside is not the commission’s responsibility”.
Najwa Khoury, member of the
National Committee for Epidemiology, told
Jordan News that postponing the elections for a month
or two may be a good thing.
With the approach of the spring and summer, the
number of COVID-19 cases begins to decline, she said, adding that cases are
high today because of the ability of new mutants to spread faster.
Khoury said that the epidemiological situation is
still under control, despite the high number of cases, and that “the medical
authorities are still able to deal with cases”, and stressed the importance of
adhering to safety measures so that the number of cases of infection or death
does not increase till “we become unable to deal with the pandemic”.
Mohammad Tarawneh, a pulmonary and respiratory
diseases specialist, told
Jordan News that the increase in the number of
COVID-19 cases was expected, especially in the presence of the Omicron mutant,
which is known to be spread rapidly.
Despite this, hospital admissions are still
reasonable and under control, he said, adding: “This is a good thing that must
be preserved, especially since the increase in the number of patients in hospitals
or of deaths leads to the collapse of the health sector, which is a thing that
we do not want to happen.”
Under the current circumstances, said Tarawneh, “the
elections should be postponed, especially since gathering inside and outside
polling centers increases the chance of the virus spreading.”
Tarawneh also stressed the importance of adhering to
safety measures, such as wearing masks, sanitizing and maintaining physical
distancing, “and, above all, taking the vaccines, and especially the third dose,
which will contribute to raising the immunity.”
The IEC Board of Commissioners published on Tuesday
the final voter lists for the provincial councils, municipal councils, and
Amman Municipality Council 2022 elections.
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