JEDDAH, 25 February 2005 — Western Region residents appear to be more interested in financial investments in bank stocks than investing in the Kingdom’s future by registering to vote, election center workers report.

The rush by large numbers of people to buy stock in the new Albilad Bank was a marked contrast to the drop in the number of people registering to vote. People were lined up at banks to buy the stock long before the banks were open.

On the first day of voter registration in Jeddah, however, attendance at the election centers was much lower than expected. At some centers in fact, employees outnumbered those registering to vote — regrettable for those who want the election experience to be successful.

“It’s disappointing to see people lining up in front of banks searching for profits and not lining up at election centers to register their votes and become decision-makers,” said voter Muhammad Al-Ghamdi. “I wish people realized that decision-making is as important as financial profits. I was hoping that people would be lining up for hours in front of election centers to register.”

In Makkah, the number of citizens registering to vote fell sharply on the first day of the Bank Albilad stocks were offered for sale. The number of voters registering in one of the busiest election centers in Makkah was only 75 on the day of the stock offering, Al-Madinah Arabic newspaper reported.

Jaber Al-Duraibi, manager of one election center, attributed the low number of people registering to vote to the interest in the stock sale.

Othman Al-Amri, also an election center manager, said his center had been affected by the stock sale. He said on the first day only 65 people registered to vote.

“The number of people is expected to rise on the weekend. There were 90 voters yesterday who registered but only 60 people on the day of the Bank Albilad sale,” said Ali Al-Ghamdi, manager of an election center on the Makkah-Madinah Expressway.

“The number of people registering increases after Isha when the banks are closed. We hope that a number of young people will register because so far the majority is over the age of 35.”

Al-Ghamdi says that does not bode well for the future. “It is very strange because one day, these young people are going to be responsible for decision-making, and they should begin sharing the responsibility,” he said.