Saudi
Candidates Learn Politics
By
Faiza
Saleh Ambah |
RIYADH,
SAUDI ARABIA - In the smoke-filled back office of
a landscape architect, Ahmad Oweiss discusses
election strategies with five potential political
candidates seated in a circle around him.
Mr.
Oweiss, a chemistry professor, is grooming the men
for the country's first nationwide polls since
Saudi Arabia's inception more than 60 years ago.
"We're trying to educate them about the
election process. This is a new experience for all
of us. I'm learning along with them," he
says.
The
group, composed of the chemist, a lawyer, a
retired Air Force colonel, a primary school
teacher, a businessman, and a journalist, call
themselves the Progressives. They hope to field 14
candidates for the municipal elections, which
start in Riyadh Feb. 10.
The
elections are part of the Saudi government's
measured response to insistent calls for reform
from both outside and inside the kingdom. While
many welcome the chance to finally participate in
local government, others say this is a meager
beginning to democratic reforms in Saudi Arabia,
an absolute monarchy where political parties are
banned, press freedom is limited, and government
critics often end up in jail.
Women
will not be allowed to participate in the vote.
According to the government, women are not taking
part because of the logistics involved in setting
up separate facilities for them in this
conservative and segregated society.
The polls
are intended to fill half the seats in 178
municipal councils spread out across the country.
The other council members will be appointed by the
government. In Riyadh, where registration for the
three-stage polls started in November, turnout has
been low. Voter registration ended with only
150,000 of an eligible 600,000 voters registered.
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Ultraconservative
Islamists see the election as an
undesirable imported Western concept,
while many liberals are boycotting the
elections in protest over the limited
scope of reform they represent. But
Mansour al-Bakr, a landscape architect who
heads the Progressives' support committee
and provides the group with meeting space,
says participation is necessary.
"We've
been asking for reforms for years. If we
don't participate in these elections,
however minor they are, the government
will think all our demands were just blah
blah blah," he says.
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It's
worth all the hard
work, he says, because
the success of these
elections is crucial for
those who seek greater
political participation.
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Mr. Bakr spends his evenings on the phone
persuading nephews and friends to
register. He writes surveys to hand out to
potential voters, asking what they're
looking for in their candidates, and has
compiled a list of more than 1,500
registered voters who the group will try
to get to the polls in February.
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It's
worth all the hard work, he says, because
the success of these elections is crucial
for those who seek greater political
participation. "It will encourage the
government to open other avenues for
elections, like the Shura [appointed
council that advises the royal
cabinet]," says Bakr.
Mohsen
al-Awaji, a bearded liberal Islamist
boycotting the elections, sips
cardamom-flavored coffee in his office and
watches a muted Al-Jazeera satellite
channel. Mr. Awaji, who has been jailed
several times for his activism and is
currently banned from traveling outside
the country because he criticized a senior
prince, says he believes the ruling Al
Saud family feels threatened by reforms.
"They
are afraid of Saudi society. [They
believe] if they share power with Saudi
society their future is on the line. But
it's the opposite," he says. "In
order for them to guarantee their
preservation, they have to make
concessions."
Awaji
did not register to vote for what he
called mock elections. "We should be
choosing our leaders from top to
bottom," he says. "Not voting
for a council that has no powers and whose
main job in most people's minds is
collecting garbage."
Awaji
says Saudis have cast their vote by not
registering to vote. "They're
expressing their rejection [of the
elections] by refusing to register."
But
architect Bakr believes the government is
serious about reform. "They have no
choice. It might be slow, but after Sept.
11, there is no other way," he says.
After
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on Washington
and New York, the kingdom came under
pressure from the US to democratize as a
way of combating extremism. Calls for
reform increased from within Saudi Arabia
after a violent campaign was launched in
2003 by Al-Qaeda-linked militants. This
wave of violence included a bombing at a
housing complex in Riyadh, killing at
least 40, and the December attack on the
American consulate in Jeddah.
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Stage
One -- Riyadh Region:
-
Registering of voters -- from
Tuesday 23/11/2004 to Wednesday
22/12/2004.
- Issuing of the voters' tables --
Saturday 25/12/2004.
- Registration of nominees -- from
Sunday 26/12/2004 to Thursday
30/12/2004.
- Announcement of first nominees'
list -- Sunday 2/1/2005.
- Final list of nominees --
Saturday 29/1/2005.
- Election campaigns -- from
Saturday 29/1/2005 to Wednesday
9/2/2005.
- Voting -- Thursday 10/2/2005.
Stage
Two -- Eastern Province, Asir,
Jizan, Najran, and Baha Regions:
- Registering of voters -- from
Tuesday 14/12/2004 to Wednesday
12/1/2005.
- Issuing of the voters' tables --
Saturday 29/1/2005.
- Registration of nominees -- from
Sunday 30/1/2005 to Thursday
3/2/2005.
- Announcement of first nominees'
list -- Sunday 6/2/2005.
- Final list of nominees --
Saturday 19/2/2005.
- Election campaigns -- from
Saturday 19/2/2005 to Wednesday
2/3/2005.
- Voting -- Thursday 3/3/2005.
Stage
Three -- Makkah, Madina, Al-Qassim,
Tabuk, Hail, Al-Jouf, and the
Northern Frontier Regions:
-
Registering of voters -- from
Tuesday 15/2/2005 to Wednesday
16/3/2005.
- Issuing of the voters' tables --
Saturday 19/3/2005.
- Registration of nominees -- from
Sunday 20/3/2005 to Thursday
24/3/2005.
- Announcement of first nominees'
list -- Sunday 27/3/2005.
- Final list of nominees --
Saturday 9/4/2005.
- Election campaigns -- from
Saturday 9/4/2005 to Wednesday
20/4/2005.
- Voting -- Thursday 21/4/2005.
Source:
Saudi
Press Agency
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| Many
liberal critics say that violence is a
direct result of the absence of reform.
Ultraconservatives counter that excessive
modernity in Saudi Arabia has led to the
violence. In a recent interview at his
home, Prince Mansour bin Miteb, head of
the election committee, said that not
everyone in Saudi Arabia is in a hurry for
change. |
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"When
we talk about reform, it requires not just
government will," says Prince Mansour,
who teaches local government at King Saud
University. "There's a spectrum where
on the far right people want minor, slow,
incremental changes and on the far left
they want a big jump. The challenge is how
to deal with these differences."
The
Progressives have jumped at the chance of
political participation, however small.
With no political experience, Bakr and
Oweiss have turned for advice to a
Bahraini public relations firm. The group
has also hosted a meeting with several
hundred intellectuals and businessmen and
even lobbied a women's group to get the
message across to their menfolk that
participating in the elections is a must.
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..There's
a spectrum
where on the far right
people want minor,
slow, incremental
changes and on the
far left they want a
big jump. The challenge
is how to deal with
these differences..
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In the
backroom in Bakr's office, they discuss how to
finance campaigns, how to reach as many voters as
possible, and ways to combat the tribal influence
and the lure of big businessmen. Tribal ties in
Saudi Arabia remain strong despite fast-paced
modernization in the kingdom.
Many
Saudi suffragettes said they would vote for the
Progressives if they could.
"I'm
going to push all my cousins to vote for
them," says Dallal al-Dughaither, a student.
"I like the idea of voting for an idea, not
just for a person," she says.
But for
some Saudis, the debate around the meaning and
significance of the elections was insignificant.
At a registration center in Riyadh, Bandar al-Najjar
says he would take part in the election to only
get better municipal services in his neighborhood.
"Where
I live, we used to have water shortages and
potholes, and the streets were not all paved. Then
a government official moved into the neighborhood
and all those problems disappeared. We need to
vote people into office who can be held
accountable. That way I won't need a VIP on my
street to get good services," he says.
Reprinted
with permission.
- Election
Fact Sheet - SUSRIS
- Discussion
of Reform in Saudi Arabia - MEES, Jan 12. 2004
- "Saudi
Arabian Elections," By Thomas W. Lippman,
SUSRIS, Nov. 19, 2003
- "Top
Figures Prepare to Contest Polls," By
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab
News, SUSRIS, Aug. 23, 2004
- "How
to Reform Saudi Arabia Without Handing It to
Extremists," By
F. Gregory Gause III, SUSRIS, Sep. 22, 2004
- "Election
Web site Launched," By Javid Hassan, Arab
News, SUSRIS Newsletter, Nov. 8, 2004
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