JEDDAH, 12 September 2004 — Saudi Arabia yesterday announced the schedule for its nationwide municipal elections. The elections have been postponed for three months and will now begin on Feb. 10, 2005 and continue until April 21. The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, which announced the schedule, did not give any reason for the postponement. The elections will be conducted in three phases in order to choose half the members of the 178 municipal councils in the Kingdom’s 13 regions. The Riyadh region will vote on Feb. 10. Voter registration will take place from Nov. 23 to Dec. 22 and a voters’ list will be published on Dec. 25, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Candidates in the Riyadh elections can register between Dec. 26 and Dec. 30, the ministry said, adding that the initial list of candidates would be published on Jan. 2 and the final list on Jan. 29. Ten days have been given to the election campaigns which begin on Jan. 29 and end on Feb. 9.
The second round of voting will include the eastern and southwestern regions and will take place on March 3, the ministry said. Registration of voters for this round of voting will begin on Dec. 14 and continue until Jan. 12. The list of voters will be published on Jan. 29. Candidates intending to run in these elections must register between Jan. 30 and Feb. 3. The first list of candidates will be published on Feb. 6 and the final list on Feb. 19, the ministry said. Candidates will campaign from Feb. 19 to March 2.
Elections in the remaining regions of Makkah, Madinah, Qasim, Tabuk, Hail, Al-Jouf and the Northern Border Province will be held on April 21, the ministry said. Registration of voters will start on Feb. 15 and end on March 16. The voters’ list will be published on March 19 and registration of candidates will take place from March 20 to 24. The first list of candidates will be out on March 27 and the final list on April 9. The candidates will be given 12 days for campaigning from April 9 to 20, the ministry said.
All Saudis aged 21 years or above, except military men, can take part in the elections.
A number of Saudis have expressed their fears that some candidates would buy votes in order to win elections and urged the authorities to do what is necessary to ensure free and fair elections. “People must be allowed to cast their votes in a democratic and transparent manner,” Al-Madinah Arabic daily quoted them as saying.
Abdullah Al-Badr said the dominance of businessmen on municipal councils would not be good for the public as the businessmen, he alleged, would concentrate on personal gains rather than working for the public interests. Many others disagreed with him and said that businessmen could play a vital role in municipal development.
A. Al-Muwalled, a government employee, said he was doubtful whether it would work in Saudi Arabia. “I am not interested in it. I don’t know how it’s going to happen and when it’s going to happen. If it is anything like what we see in the West where people can take an official to court if he did not fulfill his duties, then I’m all for it. I think that’s not going to happen here. But then it’s not fair to make judgment now. We’ll wait for two years to see how it works.”
