"..We believe the municipal council, the consultative council, and the human rights association, all these institutions are moving toward democracy, where decisions are being institutionalized.."
Dr. Saleh Al-Malik, Election Commission Member
Landmark Civic Polls Start Today
Raid Qusti & Nasser Al-Salti, Arab News
RIYADH, 10 February 2005 � Saudi citizens are set to cast their first ballots in history when Riyadh region goes to the polls in the first of a landmark municipal elections.
Today�s polls in Riyadh and surrounding areas are the first of three rounds that will eventually see elected representatives take up half the seats on 178 municipal councils across Saudi Arabia.
The remaining seats will be filled by government appointees. The rest of the country will vote in March and April.
Around 148,000 male voters are to elect half the 38 councils in the Riyadh region.
A total of 1,818 candidates are running in the first round, 646 of whom are competing for just seven seats on the capital�s council. A total of 104 seats are up for grabs in the ballot.
Women are excluded from the elections, either as voters or candidates. But the mayor of Riyadh and chairman of the local committee for elections, Prince Abdul Aziz Al-Ayyaf, said he would recommend to higher authorities that they be included in the next round, four years from now.
Speaking at a press conference held yesterday at the media center of the Ministry of Municipalities and Rural Affairs, Prince Mansoor ibn Miteb, chairman of Election Commission, added to the mayor�s statement that the municipality law in Saudi Arabia does not prevent women from either voting or contesting elections.
Reflecting on what was said by certain media networks that Saudi Arabia missed the opportunity by excluding women from the elections, Prince Mansoor said: �The government intended to go with the elections without the involvement of women due to the lack of trained women and the lack of infrastructure needed for the establishment of segregated women�s ballot centers in the Kingdom.�
�You know in Saudi Arabia we have to have segregated centers for women due to social aspects,� he pointed out. The prince said that due to the lack of time, which was one year set by the government, it was difficult for the government to employ women in cities and rural areas to receive women voters.
�The issue will be scrutinized in the next round. And it is up to the royal court and higher authorities to decide if the time is suitable for women to be appointed or allowed to cast their votes in the second round,� said Dr. Saleh Al-Malik, a member of the Election Commission.
�It is beyond the jurisdiction of the Election Commission,� Muhammad Al-Nagadi, deputy chairman of the commission, added.
Asked why heads of districts were banned from contesting on the ground of conflict of interests while real estate agents were not, Prince Abdul Aziz replied: �We are dealing with laws and regulations. And it is quite evident that district chiefs will not run for elections as they may combine both executive and supervisory positions. However, in the case of real estate agents, the law allows them to run as long as they do not have business deals with municipalities.�
To a question whether the municipal elections would be a first step toward progress and more democracy in the Kingdom, Prince Mansoor said: �As a citizen I hope my government will proceed with what is best for the people as long as it does not contradict or violate the Islamic religion.�
�The second deputy premier recently announced that the Shoura Council would be expanded to include 150 members. Just twelve years ago there were only 60. And now it is two-and-a-half times that figure. And in two months there will be 150. We believe the municipal council, the consultative council, and the human rights association all these institutions are moving toward democracy, where decisions are being institutionalized,� Dr. Al-Malek added.
About the number of voters, candidates, poll centers, and precincts, Nagadi said that in two stages the number of people who registered were 470,000. In the first phase 150,000 voters were registered and the second phase saw 320,000 registrations.
In Riyadh city, the number of voters registered was 86,000 in seven precincts covering 73 centers.
�The number of candidates registered in the city was 640. And the number of members for the municipal council is 14, seven of them will be appointed and seven will be elected,� said Prince Abdul Aziz.
�In the region of Riyadh there will be 37 municipal councils. There are 140,000 voters and about 1,000 candidates of whom 127 will be elected for the region of Riyadh,� he added.
On the implementation, coordination, and supervision of the elections, Prince Mansoor said: �Committees from civil societies including the Saudi Association for Journalists, Saudi Management Administration Association, National Society for Human Rights and others have set up a mechanism to watch over the elections. They are totally and financially independent. Our role is just to facilitate their function, by giving passes that enable them to do their work. We do not interfere with their job. After they complete their tasks they will submit their final report to the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Information.�
Prince Abdul Aziz said that preliminary results would be announced this evening, but added that at no cost should the preliminary announcement mean that they are the final results. Final results are to be announced tomorrow (Friday).
Asked about the reasons of the substantial differences between the total number of voters in the Riyadh region and of that in the Eastern Province, Prince Mansoor attributed the larger number in the Eastern Province to the efforts exerted by the local committee�s chairman Prince Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin.
�Other factors are that citizens have realized that elections have become a tangible fact, � added Dr. Saleh Al-Malek.
Asked about a satisfactory percentage of voters, Prince Mansoor said: �There is no clear-cut percentage. And we cannot compare this election to any other election because this is the first. In Saudi Arabia, voting is voluntary. It is not mandatory as in other countries, like for example in Jordan. Also, in other countries elections are combined with other regional/state elections like what is going on in the United States. Therefore, we cannot pinpoint a certain percentage.�
Reprinted with permission
Additional Reporting
A hint of democracy is cast in Saudi election - AP
"When Saudis in the Riyadh region vote today in the country's first nationwide elections, they will have registration cards, vote behind privacy curtains, drop ballots in boxes designed according to international standards and choose among candidates who ran Western-style campaigns, including posters, phone text messages and newspaper ads.."
[more]
Saudi Arabia Holds First-Ever Election - VOA
"Voting is underway for Saudi men only in the first phase of the country's first-ever municipal election. The voting Thursday is taking place in and around the capital, Riyadh.."
[more]
Saudis Vote in Historic Election - BBC
"Saudi Arabia is holding its first nationwide municipal elections, as the government aims to introduce elements of democracy in the desert kingdom.."
[more]
Saudis vote nationwide - IHT/NYTimes
"Riyadh - It is not exactly a democratic revolution - the elections Thursday were for only half the members of municipal councils and women were not allowed to vote. Still, Saudi Arabia embarked on its first nationwide voting, and the exercise may end up being more than symbolic.."
[more]
Saudi Arabia's landmark elections kick off in Riyadh - AlJazeera
"'It took a long time to get here but we've broken through a psychological barrier that we couldn't deal with ballot boxes,' said Sulaiman Enezi, a university professor, after casting his vote.."
[more]
In Saudis' first nationwide poll, candidates test limits - CSMonitor
"RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA � Salman al-Sulaiman, a candidate in Saudi Arabia's first nationwide municipal elections, tries to explain to a young man why he thinks women should finally be allowed to drive. But the young man furrows his brow in concentration and says what many here think of Mr. Sulaiman's idea. "I will not vote for you unless you take that issue off your platform," he says.."
[more]
Q&A - Saudi Municipal Elections - BBC
"Saudis vote on Thursday in phase one of their first ever municipal elections, seen as a bid to answer calls for greater democracy.."
[more]
|
