RASED, Al Hayat Center’s accountability, governance and participation program expressed their regret over their absence from the upcoming Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) elections, which will be held on Friday.

Their remarks came after the Secretary General of the JEA refused to allow them to monitor the elections. The monitor expressed that they had previously communicated with the JEA electoral committee and that the secretary was not the decision maker in regards to the monitoring of the election.

RASED expressed in a statement released on Sunday, that the the prohibition did not fall in line with international standards that call for the need of an independent body to supervise the electoral process.

Furthermore, the statement indicated that the monitoring role was not limited to recording violations and shortcomings during the casting of ballots, but rather a mechanism to issue recommendations in order to improve the election process as a whole.