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EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Saudi-U.S. Relations Information Service would like to thank Arab
News for permission to share this article with our
readers. It was originally published August 19, 2004.
Top Figures Prepare to
Contest Polls
By P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News |
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Prominent personalities including academics
and businessmen are preparing to contest the Kingdom�s first-ever municipal
elections to be held from November into early 2005.
Businessman Awad Al-Dossi, owner of Sahari
Real Estate Establishment in Jeddah, has expressed his desire to contest the
elections, which he described as a step in the right direction. He said the
candidates should not be allowed to purchase votes.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Yamani, executive director of
an oil service company, Khaled Al-Ghamdi, and Bandar Al-Fehaid, both
businessmen, are other possible contestants from Jeddah.
Fifteen figures in Makkah including
businessman Abdul Rahman Faqeeh, academic Rashid Al-Rajih, Adel Kaaki, Abdul
Rahman Al-Subaie, Turki Ahmed Badr and Ziyad Farsy are to file their
nominations.
 In the Asir region, 15 people have filed their
nominations. According to Okaz daily, they included a number of
businessmen.
Ibrahim Aburas, municipal chairman in Khamis
Mushayt, emphasized the significance of municipal councils, saying they would
promote joint action to realize common interests.
In Yanbu, there are reports that 10 important
figures were likely to contest the polls. They include Naji Al-Ahmedi, Saleh
Al-Harbi and Faisal Mansour. Tough competition is expected between candidates
in the industrial city.
 According to a high-level source at the
Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, members of the Shoura Council and
regional councils can contest the polls. �The rules and regulations do not
exempt them from either voting or contesting the elections,� Al-Watan
daily quoted the source as saying.
Meanwhile, the chambers of commerce and
industry in Makkah, Riyadh and Dammam have offered to hold three-month
intensive courses for candidates on municipal work. The chambers have already
presented applications to the Municipal and Rural Affairs Ministry in this
respect.
The elections to pick half the members of 178
municipal councils in the Kingdom�s 13 regions will be held in three phases.
Elections in the Riyadh region will be conducted in the first phase. The
second phase, to be conducted before the Haj season, will cover the Eastern
Province as well as the Asir, Baha, Jizan and Najran regions.
The third phase of elections in the regions of
Makkah, Madinah, Qasim, Al-Jouf, the Northern Border Region, Tabuk and Hail
will be held after the Haj season.
The ministry has already published the
poll�s rules and regulations, which allow all Saudis aged 21 or above,
except military men, to take part in the voting.
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![Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz chaired the regular weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers (like that shown here) on October 23, 2003. The cabinet issued directives for the restructuring of the municipalities sector, introducing election procedures for half of the members of each municipal council in order to secure greater participation of citizens in local affairs. The decision also gives a one-year grace period for the authorities concerned to finalize these procedures. For the Kingdom's major municipalities, the cities of Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and Jeddah, and those in the provinces of Asir, Qasim, Jizan, Jouf, Tabuk, Hail, Baha, Najran, the Eastern Province and the Northern Border Province, the decision restructures the existing municipal hierarchy, and affects the rural assemblies that are linked to the municipalities under the regulations of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. (Source: Saudi Arabian Embassy Web Site) [Photo: SPA]](https://www.saudi-us-relations.org/images/IOI/2004_08_23b.jpg)
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