Jordan held on Tuesday parliamentary elections which opposition Islamists say have been marred by violations.
Voting stations opened at 0500 GMT in the contest for the 110-member assembly and are due to close at 1700 GMT. Most results are expected early on Wednesday, according to interior ministry officials, cited by Reuters.
In the elections, 885 candidates are standing and the authorities stated 2.4 million eligible voters are registered.
Many are expected to vote on mostly tribal and family lines in the second parliamentary elections under King Abdullah, who ascended the throne in 1999.
Critics say this election, unlike the last in 2003, has seen influential politicians and business figures using patronage and vote-buying to maintain their hold. Stories abound of candidates promising everything exchange for support.
The Islamic Action Front, the largest political party and political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood said the elections are taking place under an election law where districts are tailored to counter its popular support. "There are violations ...that contradict the promise of transparent and fair elections," IAF head Zaki Bani Rusheid said in a public letter to Prime Minister Marouf Bakheet.
The government has strongly denied allegations of planned fraud.
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
