(MENAFN- Jordan Times) More than 250 Jordanians are volunteering their time in a campaign to encourage people to register to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
By the end of Wednesday's working day, registered voters reached 1.38 million, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Independent Elections Commission (IEC) Spokesperson Hussein Bani Hani as saying. A total of 40,431 voters registered on Wednesday.
Travelling to heavily populated areas and government departments where people gather to conduct business, the volunteers distribute flyers and chat with citizens about the importance of registering and casting their ballots.
"The campaign seeks to educate citizens about the need to register and take part in the elections to attain the required reforms," Tahani Barakat, general committee manager of the "Erfan" initiative, which is implementing the campaign, told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.
Registration, which started in August, was scheduled to end earlier this month, but the IEC extended the deadline until September 30 to allow more voters to register.
According to official figures, the number of eligible voters stands at three million.
The campaign's volunteers visit public agencies, malls, markets, youth centres and NGOs to urge citizens to register and vote. The volunteers also offer to drive citizens to Civil Status and Passports Department offices to register, she said.
"In the near future, we will focus on areas where registration for the polls is low. These areas include some parts of Amman, Zarqa, Irbid and Tafileh," Barakat said over the phone.
The Erfan initiative, which was launched two years ago by representatives of the private sector and youth groups to encourage citizens to participate in public life, will conduct seminars and workshops in universities, youth centres and NGOs in different parts of the country starting next Sunday to encourage registration for the polls, she added.
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