Ammon News - AMMAN — The legal period for campaigning for the municipal elections started on Friday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Nidal Abu Orabi, director of the legal department at the Municipal Affairs Ministry, said the campaigning period ends on the day preceding the polls, slated for August 27.

Special regulations were announced by the ministry regarding election campaigns, urging candidates to maintain stability, preserve national unity and safeguard public property.

Candidates were urged not to hang their posters on traffic signs, or electricity and telephone poles.

Last week, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) issued special regulations on organising electoral promotion campaigns for its 22 electoral districts.

The number of eligible voters in Amman is estimated at around 1.4 million.

The head of GAM’s municipal committee, Abdul Halim Kilani, on Saturday visited the headquarters of GAM’s electoral committee in Ras Al Ain and checked on logistic preparations.

He said all 101 polling centres should be ready before August 15.

Municipal Affairs Minister Hussein Majali will hold a press conference on Monday at 3pm at the Prime Ministry to highlight preparations for the municipal elections.

According to the ministry, invitations were forwarded to all media outlets to attend the conference, Petra reported.

Last Thursday, the Municipal Affairs Ministry said a total of 3,040 people submitted candidacy applications for the municipal elections by the end of working hours that day, excluding applications for the Greater Amman Municipality.

The applications included 708 for a mayoral post, including six women, while the remaining 2,332 applications were by potential candidates seeking to run for the membership of municipal councils, including 482 women.

The candidacy period ended last Thursday.

The ministry has allocated JD233,000 from its budget to finance municipalities’ preparations for the polls.

The elections spokesperson, Ahed Ziadat, said in previous remarks that JD5,000 will be given to 11 municipalities of the first category while the other 89 municipalities will be given JD1,000 each.

The money is from the ministry’s budget and not from the JD5 million allocated by the Cabinet for the ministry to organise the elections. (The Jordan Times)