RIYADH, 14 February 2005 — The Deputy Minister of Awqaf in the Minstry of Islamic Affairs, Saud ibn Taleb, who won a seat in the recent elections has said that the exercise in Riyadh should serve as an important lesson for those in Jeddah next month.
According to him, the elections illustrated the maturity of voters who refused to be swayed by money, an extremist agenda or tribal affiliations; they voted solely on the basis of the candidate’s merit, his platform and his ability to persuade voters to support him.
The deputy minister said the elections in Riyadh have put the candidates in Jeddah and elsewhere on notice that empty talk is not enough if they do not do their homework properly. He also called for a limit on campaign spending so that core issues rather than expensive stunts attract attention.
Denying that Islamists had won, the deputy minister said he agreed with Interior Minister Prince Naif who said: “We are all Muslims speaking from the common platform of improving municipal services. We can’t say that the victors represented this trend or that trend. We are 100 percent sure that they all belong to their country.”
Taleb said the elections were not fought on the basis of Islamists against liberals since municipal services do not have a political agenda underlying them.
“Mine was a realistic agenda,” Taleb said. “I promised the voters what I thought I could deliver, such as improving the infrastructure of Dirriyyah and developing it in terms of tourism and IT. In fact, I have a vision for Dirriyyah — to attract investments and set up an IT park which we could showcase as our Silicon Valley. I would also like to build houses for the elderly, provide training facilities for young Saudis as well as a youth club for their leisure pursuits.”
Explaining what caused defeat for some candidates, Muhammad Al-Omar, executive director of Rawnaa Specialized Communications Co. which ran the campaign for the deputy minister, said some of the losers either had no platform or an unrealistic one — such as promising something that was the government’s responsibility. “One candidate lost the elections even though he spent SR9 million. An imam was also defeated in one constituency because he did not have a platform.”
Muhammad Al-Humaidy, a supporter of Abdullah Al-Swailem who won on a platform of social service, said: “Abdullah is an eloquent speaker. His message was simple and direct. The voter was aware of who he was voting for. Abdullah threw his record of service into the campaign in terms of charitable work.
“He refused to endorse the extremist agenda and for these reasons the voters entrusted him with the responsibility of representing them on the municipal council.”
