RIYADH, 17 February 2005 — The first round of the municipal elections brings with it the first challenges to its results, prompting the Election Commission to launch an investigation into the charges. The commission will address the grievances of the losing candidates within a week.
The Grievances and Complaints Committee will review, act on or declare null and void more than 10 complaints of electoral law violations filed so far, said Sultan Al-Bazie, a spokesman of the commission, on Tuesday.
“The four-member Grievances and Complaints Committee will be assisted by an administrative body to address appeals and complaints,” said Al-Bazie. “The process will take nearly a week to review and examine each complaint.”
The Grievances Committee, headed by Prince Miteb, minister of municipal and rural affairs, will be required to submit detailed reports to the minister on each of the stages of the probe, outlining both the nature of the complaints and steps it follows in addressing them.
Al-Bazie declined to specify the nature of the complaints, saying only that it was too early. It also is not immediately clear what recourse the Grievances Committee will take to address the complaints of the losing candidates.
The candidates appealing have been raising their objections for several days, alleging six of the seven victors violated a ban on election alliances. They also have accused the winners of having their names circulated by mobile phones and Internet messages to Riyadh voters suggesting they had the backing of religious leaders.
“The accusations are baseless. A comparison of the number of votes bagged by the winners and losers explicitly explains that the whole exercise was fair and transparent,” said Dr. Ibrahim Al-Quayid, who got the highest number of votes (12,800).
“In fact, the defeated candidates have been trailing behind since the first day of the campaign, which also is evidenced by the fact that my nearest competitor could manage to get a little more than 4,000 votes only,” said Al-Quayid who ran in Precinct No. 6. “We are awaiting the government’s notification to resume duties as councilors.”
Dhafer Saeed Al-Yami, a loser, dismissed Al-Quayid’s contention and insisted that election laws were violated in many cases and by all of the winners. He, however, failed to file his complaint yesterday, the last day to challenge the election results.
Some of the winning candidates also have been accused of placing posters and large display boards on buildings as well as sending mobile phone text messages repeatedly showing alliances of what turned out to be the winning candidates.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Hamidi, who was defeated in the recent election, had a different view, however. “Many of the candidates have grievances, but personally, I am not going to challenge the poll results,” said Al-Hamidi. “I also don’t have any evidence to appeal against the election results.”
But questions still remain and await a final determination by election officials. “I am personally convinced that the winning candidates formed an alliance and swept the poll,” said Abdullah Saud Abu Himad.
