RIYADH, 11 February 2005 — A cross-section of voters who participated in yesterday’s municipal elections have called for a ceiling on election expenses on the ground that candidates with substantial resources could enjoy an unfair advantage over others.

Speaking to Arab News after casting his vote in Polling Center No. 62 on the King Saud University campus, Hamad Al-Kabbah, a retired public servant, said the government should review its regulations for the future conduct of elections to ensure that wealthy candidates do not use their funds to score over those with modest means. “Why should we copy the Western model? There should be a cap on the election expenditure,” Al-Kabbah observed.

Under the regulations of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs there is no cap on the electoral expenditure so long as a candidate can give an account of his expenses. This enabled candidates with substantial means to reach out to their voters using state-of-the-art communication tools such as the Internet, cell phones, newspaper adverts and by setting up huge tents with lavish receptions for voters, distribution of water bottles with their own photographs on the label, banners, etc.

Al-Kabbah said by putting a ceiling on the expenses, the voter could evaluate a candidate on the basis of his campaign theme rather than his high-profile electioneering style as in the West.

In this context, he suggested that a special agency be set to run election campaigns. “There are 646 candidates for seven seats being contested in Riyadh. If each one of them pays, for example, SR5,000 toward election expenses, we end up with SR3.23 million.”

He explained that since each will contest from a level-playing field, this will leave the voters to judge the candidates on the basis of their campaign promises and track record. As for those with huge resources, they could divert part of them for charitable projects rather than flaunting their wealth.

Muhammad Al-Omran, a businessman, said the elections heralded the first step toward greater participation in the decision-making process. “It’s true the candidates promised a lot. This time, however, the campaign promise is not that important as the fact that elections did take place.”

Asked if there should be an upper limit on the election expenditure, Al-Omran said: “We should not expect a lot this time. In the US and other Western democracies candidates spend a lot on their electioneering campaigns. So it is quite normal with the democratic process.”

Fahad ibn Ali Ghanim said one candidate who spent a huge amount on his election campaign would not have an impact on the voters, since he ran his campaign on a false propaganda. “Ultimately, what counts is the sincerity of a candidate and his ability to deliver on his promise,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, Fahd Nasser Al-Jadeed said extravagance in the election does not guarantee a candidate’s victory.

Muhammad Al-Humaidy, who voted from the Al-Suwaidi constituency, said voters in that largely middle-class area were swayed more by the candidates’ campaign promises. “They voted for those who, they thought, could make a difference in their life by doing something for their constituency. The candidate of my choice was Abdullah Al-Swailem who is also an educationist. I voted for him because he is an eloquent speaker and could be trusted to do something for our district.”

Referring to arrangements for the first phase of the elections, Sultan Al-Bazie, spokesman of the Central Election Committee, said 73 polling stations had been set up in Riyadh out of a total of 142 for the Riyadh region as a whole.

He said since the candidates were contesting the elections on their own individual platforms, the themes of their campaigns were drawn largely from issues of civic concern — solving traffic problems, setting up youth centers and environmental protection.

Khaled Al-Mufaddah, a voter, said the candidates were evaluated on the basis of their ideas and electoral promises rather than high-profile election campaigns. “What I am expecting is improvement in the traffic situation, street lighting as well as construction of public schools and health centers. These were the campaign promises of my candidate,” he said.

Muhammad Al-Tuwaim of King Saud University said independent assessment by election observers revealed that there was transparency in the election expenses and no irregularities were reported.