RIYADH, 11 February 2005 — Voters interviewed by Arab News yesterday expressed satisfaction on the smooth process of balloting. They also commended the well-organized process and hoped that one day this would reflect positively on the operation and performance of municipalities. It took most of the voters less than five minutes to process their papers and cast their votes.

Voters said that this was a historic day for Saudi Arabia and that their voting stemmed from their aspirations and national duty.

They also agreed that this was a first experience for the Kingdom and that the country should learn from it.

“From the moment you enter the polling station to the moment you leave, you find that everything is very well organized,” said AbdulAziz ibn Abdullah, a local resident.

“The entire process takes between a minute and two. What we want to see in the future is a continuation of this organizational system. This first round will set a standard and benchmark for future elections,” he added.

“I feel like any citizen who has come here today to cast his vote; that I have the right to choose,” said a government employee who did not want to be named.

On the question of how he chose his favorite candidate, he said: “I learned about them from the TV and newspapers. I looked at their profiles and looked at their abilities. It’s not on the basis of them being related to me or not. My choice was based on information made available by the candidates themselves or by the questions raised by the voters.”

An old man in his late eighties, accompanied by his son, said: “This is God’s will; the first drop of goodness.”

Ahmed Abdulrahman Al-Murshid, director of economic studies, Grain Silos, who is a candidate for the sixth precinct, said that voters should not rush to choose their candidates without a prior knowledge of them.

“They should know the candidate and have some knowledge on his qualifications and his ability to service the people,” he said.

“Response was pretty good, though it may not come up to our expectations, but as a first experience, it is a very good exercise,” he added.

About the mechanism of reaching out to voters, Murshid said, “Apparently, voters do not have enough knowledge. As a voter, in the first place, you must know what is a municipality, its authorities, law and regulations.

And hence, what you want from your candidate.” “Possibly, information is not available, or not properly communicated,” he added. On his expectations of the next round, he said: “I expect there will be more response in the next round. I also expect that programs would be clearer for voters. However, I would call for a better role for the media to play in educating voters on elections and municipal councils.”

“People will benefit a lot from this experience even on the principle of trial and error. This year they will cast their votes based on trust. But next term it will be based on knowledge and experience,” a local citizen said.

On the organization of the election process, Dr. Musaid ibn Saleh Al-Musabihi, an academic at King Saud University, said that he was watching the process closely for the last two months. “It is quite an encouraging experience. And for the last stage, I would say it has been an outstanding success so far. I’ve seen people coming in to cast their votes even before 8 a.m. when poll employees were ready to receive them. If this indicates anything, it reflects the positive response of the people and their enthusiasm to express their rights and choose their candidates,” he said.

On the apathy of voting in the Riyadh city and whether candidates should have launched their campaigns before voters registered, the official said: “Let me explain one important point. We should not have overexpectations in evaluating this election as a first experience. We should be objective when we assess the situation. In a developing country like ours, the elections can be given a higher score compared to First World countries.”

“There are some shortcomings for sure. We have to admit that and understand it. Nevertheless, I will say it is a great success. And I am quite confident that authorities will seriously take the evaluation of this round to overcome any weaknesses in the next round,” he added.

Asked about the heads of poll committees, Dr. Musabahi said that most heads of committees were volunteers and they were proud of what they were doing for their country.

“In every center there are about 15 to 20 volunteers, mostly from academic and educational institutions such as King Saud University, Imam Muhammad University, and public schools. They are doing this for free as a community service,” he said.

Saleh Al-Salim, former mayor of Taif and a former deputy interior minister, who is now on the panel of the three attorneys defending the Saudis detained in Guantanamo, said that registering or casting of votes is a good level of awareness among people.

“This a duty of every citizen,” he commented.

On what he thinks about the exclusion of women, the former mayor said, “Our government always takes careful and rational steps. This includes issues on women’s participation in public life. As we heard, women will most likely get into elections.”