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Ammon News - AMMAN — Leftist MP Abla Abu Olbeh said on Sunday that she lost her seat in the 17th Lower House, after the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) recounted the votes.

On Saturday, the IEC said the Citizenship ticket, led by former minister Hazem Qashou, did not win a seat in the 17th Lower House, granting the seat instead to the leftist Democratic Renaissance list led by Abu Olbeh.

But upon recounting the votes and verifying the results on Sunday, the commission gave the seat back to Qashou’s ticket, Abu Olbeh said in a statement on her Facebook page.

“As the Democratic Renaissance list denounces this manipulation of the voters’ will, it reaffirms its commitment to moving forward with democratic reform,” the leftist leader said.

The IEC’s board of commissioners endorsed the results of Wednesday’s parliamentary elections on Sunday. The IEC will announce the final results in a press conference on Monday.

Meanwhile, Several heavyweight deputies on Sunday said they had plans to run for the 17th Lower House speakership and that they started lobbying for support.

These included newly elected MPs Abdul Karim Dughmi, Saad Hayel Srour, Khalil Atiyeh, Mohammad Al Haj and Atef Tarawneh, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Dughmi and Srour have previously served as House speakers, while Tarawneh has served as deputy speaker.

Parliament is expected to commence its ordinary session early next month, with deputies electing permanent office members and a House speaker.

Over the weekend, deliberations over forming political blocs within the 150-seat 17th Lower House also began.

The National Current Party, led by veteran politician and former Lower House speaker Abdul Hadi Majali, began contacting election winners from various regions and districts to establish his bloc in parliament.

Haj, the Islamic Centrist Party’s secretary general, said his party won 16 seats in the 17th Lower House and will seek speakership and an active role in the next government.

His Majesty King Abdullah has said that he will consult with the largest blocs that won the majority of seats in parliament over the designation of the new prime minister following the resignation of the current government in line with the newly introduced parliamentary government system.

In related news, the Amman Court of Appeals on Sunday accepted an application lodged to allow bail for former deputy and Amman’s 2nd District candidate Ghazi Elayyan, who was detained last week on suspicion of using of money to influence voters.

Elayyan failed to gain sufficient votes to win.

On Thursday, he was transferred from Juweideh Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre, where he was detained, to Totanji Hospital due to a health condition.

Three candidates — Mohammad Khashman (National Union list), Ahmad Safadi (Amman, 3rd District) and Adnan Abu Rukbeh (Madaba, 1st District) — are being investigated for suspected involvement in vote buying despite winning seats in the 17th Lower House, but they will lose their seats if the court convicts them.

If Khashman, who heads his list, is convicted, the next candidate on the list will obtain his seat, but for those who won at the district level, by-elections should be held in their respective districts for voters to elect their replacements. (The Jordan Times)