Ammon News - AMMAN (Petra) – By Abttan H. Amareen More than 2.27 million eligible voters will Wednesday cast their ballots in Jordan’s parliamentary elections to their representatives in the 17th lower house of parliament.

The vote is held under a new elections law and the oversight of the newly-established Independent Elections Commission IEC.

More than 7,000 local, Arab and international observers representing the EU and NGOs will monitor the polls to ensure they are held according to highest international criteria.

Jordanians pin high hopes on the vote being a springboard for a new era of parliamentary life and boarder grass-roots participation in decision-making.

1,425 candidates, including 191 women, representing the various political spectra, are vying for seats in the Kingdom’s 150-strong legislature.

Up to 606 candidates, including 105 women, are running in the 45 local constituencies and 819, representing 61 blocs, including 86 women, are competing in the general (national) list.

Twenty-seven seats will be allocated for candidates running on nation-wide lists and 15 seats for women’s quota. Each voter has two votes; one at his/her local constituency and another for a candidate he/she picks from across the Kingdom.

Voters will be casting ballots in 4,069 ballot boxes at 45 polling centers nationwide. Polling starts at 07:00 am and ends at 07:00 pm.

The vote is a culmination of major amendments to the constitution and the previous elections law made over the past two years. His Majesty the King said in a paper he authored that the path towards deepening democracy in Jordan lies in moving toward parliamentary government, where the majority coalition in Parliament forms the Government.

He affirmed that after the elections, "we will start piloting a parliamentary government system, including how our Prime Ministers and Cabinets are selected." The King and Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour have repeatedly vowed that the polls will be fair, transparent and free and stressed that no one would be allowed to tamper with outcome of the elections.

In many occasions, the premier warned that any interference in the polls would be met with stiff penalties. In the past few weeks, authorities addressed a number of election-related crimes including political money and forging ballots. Three candidates in the capital have been apprehended for using money to influence voters.