RIYADH, 23 December 2004 — As the registration of voters for the Feb. 10 municipal elections in Riyadh concluded yesterday, only 130,000 people had registered their names.
Referring to the arrangements for the first phase of elections, Sultan Al-Bazie, the registration campaign’s spokesman told Arab News that 73 polling stations have been set up in Riyadh out of 142 for the Riyadh region as a whole. He said that the registration campaign that had a weak kick-off picked up momentum during the last three days, when some registration centers witnessed a large turnout of voters. Al-Bazie attributed the last-minute rush to the impact of the media campaign encouraging the people to come forward to vote. He added that there was no precise indication of age categories.
However, the middle-aged and senior citizens seemed to show greater enthusiasm in exercising their right than the younger generation. From the final tally of voters registered by the Election Commission, the response seemed to be lukewarm, with the level of registration ranging from nine to 19 percent of the eligible population in the capital.
Explaining the reasons for voter apathy, a Saudi political analyst told Arab News that one of the major factors was the fact that there was an information gap between the candidate and his voters. “The candidates are not known. Their program is not known. So the voter does not know who he is voting and for what.” Even so, he pointed out, it would be too early to prejudge the outcome.
In what may be described as the ‘silence of the lamb’, a candidate who threw a lavish party as part of his electioneering campaign found to his dismay that he could not find the route to voters’ hearts and minds through their stomachs. It all happened when a prospective candidate from north Riyadh hosted the banquet to lure voters. He invited scores of poets, folk dancers, drummers, singers, journalists and dignitaries, among others, to launch his electioneering campaign.
He set up tents and pavilions for the political-cum-cultural extravaganza. He served his guests with a mountain of rice capped by roasted lambs, huge trays of exotic fruits and dates to be washed down with weather-chilled juice in the alfresco party.
Before the guests sat down to enjoy the feast, the candidate was served notice by the authorities that while he was welcome to host the party, he would not be allowed to gain political mileage out of it. Reason: He had not yet registered himself as a candidate. In the end, the poets, troubadours, drummers, and dignitaries left quietly, while the lambs were devoured in silence.
