Jordanians completed voting Wednesday in a landmark election that one outside observer said was free of any violations, the state-run news agency Petra said.
As their country undergoes political strains and electoral reforms, about 1.3 million Jordanians went to the polls, representing 56.6% of registered voters, said Independent Elections Commission spokesman Hussein Bani Hani.
David Martin, head of the European Union's Election Observation Mission in Jordan, praised measures taken by a newly created commission in managing the elections and said there were no violations. The mission will hold a press conference Friday morning.
Official results will be announced by noon Thursday, Hani said, according to Petra.
In the 17th time Jordan has gone to the polls to elect a parliament since becoming a nation in 1946, Wednesday's balloting was an election of firsts.
For the first time, the country has allowed observers. It was the first time that an independent election commission oversaw polling.
"These elections today are the culmination of a constitutional process, the beginning of a new phase of reforms. It is a continuing process," said Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said he had not yet submitted his resignation to King Abdullah II until elections are completed, Petra reported.
Jordanians who are part of the Muslim Brotherhood were said to be boycotting the election -- an action Ensour described as not democratic, Petra said.
Voting is a duty, he said.
If voter turnout is deemed weak, Ensour said, it will be mainly due to people's frustrations with the performance of former parliaments and the suspicion that surrounded previous polls. Still, Jordan could be a model for the Arab world in holding free and fair elections, Ensour said.
"Fair elections cannot only be ensured by the government and its agencies but also by candidates, voters and civil society institutions," Ensour said, adding that the government and the Independent Elections Commission did their utmost to fight any electoral corruption.
The king has stated in discussion papers that the new prime minister will be designated based on consultations with the parliamentary bloc that has the majority, Ensour said.
The deliberate steps at transparency are crucial for a country that's under a great deal of political strain -- and whose stability has ramifications for the world outside its borders.
Recent events have threatened the fragile monarchy to the point that some analysts are warning of collapse.
What began with protests by the Islamic Action Front, Jordan's branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has given way to broader unrest led by tribal factions known as al-Hirak (the movement).
Al-Hirak demands an end to corruption and calls for a new era of political reform in Jordan in which Islamists are almost sure to dominate.
In an effort to quell the protests, Jordan's ruler, King Abdullah II, dissolved parliament last year and amended election laws.
In a region rocked by Arab Spring upheavals, Jordan has been relatively stable and is one of the few friends Israel has.
It is amid this backdrop that most Jordanians went to the polls. Opposition groups boycotted it.
"Elections have been fairly smooth so far," said David Martin, chief observer of the European Union Election Observing Mission.
Some polling stations reported minor technical glitches, but there had been no "signs of intimidation," he said.
Security and observers
Wednesday's balloting took place under the watchful eye of 47,000 police officers and another 7,000 election observers.
"Opening the door to observers -- international, Arab and local -- is proof that we trust ourselves and that there's nothing to hide," said Samih Maaytah, a government spokesman.
