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Voting ends without major incidents -- police chiefAMMAN, Jan 24, 2013 (Jordan Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- All security incidents during Wednesday's elections were minor and the total number was fewer than anticipated, the Public Security Department (PSD) said. A total of 46 incidents were reported in the first 11 hours of voting, PSD Director General Gen. Hussein Majali said at a press conference at 6:00pm Wednesday, two hours before the polls closed. "The number of incidents represents only 5 per cent of what the department expected for violence during voting," Majali told reporters. The Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted a PSD report as saying that security forces had dealt with seven brawls, four attempts to block roads, three incidents of vandalism and 12 cases of festive firing, among other incidents. Six security incidents took place in Amman, eight in the central region and 10 in the north, while three incidents were reported in Aqaba and four in the badia region, the PSD report said. Petra also cited the national team monitoring the elections, led by the National Centre For Human Rights, as observing several other incidents. In Karak, observers from the team reported a brawl between supporters of different candidates in which PSD personnel used tear gas to break up the fight. Several citizens fainted as a result and candidates' supporters started shooting in the air, Petra quoted the observer team as saying. Another brawl occurred in Maan at Al Maimonah Bint Al Hareth School in the Southern Badia District. Also, shooting was reported in Amman's 7th District and the national team's monitors were pulled from four schools to ensure their safety, the observer coalition said. Majali said none of Wednesday's incidents had resulted in serious injuries and that police had managed to resolve all clashes. Some 40,000 policemen were in the field on election day and another 10,000 were on standby, the police chief said. Security forces are well prepared to maintain stability after of the elections, Majali noted, stressing that they will not tolerate any violence. "We have the will, strength and professionalism to maintain the country's stability," he added. ___ (c)2013 the Jordan Times (Amman, Jordan) Visit the Jordan Times (Amman, Jordan) at www.jordantimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |