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Ammon News - From Mohammad Habahbeh at election media center/ Amman

AMMONNEWS - Spokesman of the Independent Elections Commission, Hussein Bani Hani, said that the body is still scrutinizing the initial results of the elections and that official results will be announced by noon today.

President of the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) Abdul Ilah Khatib stressed on Wednesday night that the ballot counting and sorting process will be administered with utmost transparency and fairness.

He added in statements during a press conference following the closing of polling stations nationwide that the ballot counting process will be administered in the attendance of candidates, their representatives, and local and international election observers and media outlets.

Election committees will proceed with sorting and counting national list (public district) results first, then will move to counting local district results.

On the proceedings of the electoral process during Wednesday's parliamentary elections, Khatib said that "Jordanian voters voiced their word today," and he praised the political will that has been put forth to ensure the transparency and fairness of the election process.

Khatib announced that nearly 1,287,760 voters casted their ballots on Wednesday, out of a total of nearly 2.3 million registered voters.

He noted that IEC's decision to extend the voting deadline one extra hour was because of increased voter turnout in polling stations throughout the kingdom in the evening hours, citing long queues at various voting centers.

The IEC chief noted that the violations reported during election day were limited, he said in statements to Ammon News, voicing IEC's gratitude to the Civil Coalition to Monitor the Elections (Rased) and civil society organizations in monitoring and reporting violations.

Regarding the results, Khatib said that following the ballot sorting and counting process, electoral committees will enter final results into the electronic elections system.

A special IEC committee will be formed to audit the results and calculate votes allocated for quota seats and national list seats.

Khatib voiced his gratitude to all who worked to ensure the success of the parliamentary election process.