Hundreds Petition Jordan’s King Abdullah to Postpone Elections

Photo Credit: Amman News

Hundreds of former officials and leading public figures urged Jordan’s King Abdullah to delay the upcoming parliamentary elections, warning that holding the polls amid a nationwide boycott may tip the country into a deep political crisis. According to the Jordan times, some 400 current and former lawmakers, activists, and commentators issued a petition calling on the King to postpone the elections in order to first resolve the growing controversy surrounding the Elections Law. The law has been rejected by many political forces who have vowed to boycott the election. “We are concerned that if we have elections under the current law and under the current conditions, we will be faced with a failed Parliament and a potential political crisis,” said Taher Odwan, former minister of media affairs.

In addition, Islamists have organized a sit-in under the name “The Reform Night,” in downtown Amman. The sit-in will protest the slowdown in the pace of the reform process. The Jordan Times reports that reform activists and several other political opposition groups plan to join Islamists in the protest.

Meanwhile, 3 Syrians were killed and 30 injured along Jordan’s northern border Sunday when the Syrian military opened fire on nearly 500 refugees fleeing into the Kingdom. Tensions are growing after Syrian forces mistakenly targeted Jordanian border patrols Friday, sparking a firefight between the two armies.

On the outskirts of the northeastern city of Mafraq authorities opened the Zaatari refugee camp in the face of what authorities are calling a “humanitarian crisis.” At the moment, the camp consists of 2,000 tents capable of housing 10,000 individuals, with the possibility to expand to provide for 12,000.