In marked contrast to the low turnout in the first phase of the municipal elections in the Riyadh region held on Feb. 10, yesterday saw overcrowded polling centers in the Eastern Region where men queued up in large numbers to cast their ballots in the second round of landmark local polls. What appears to have influenced voter enthusiasm and voting preferences most seem to be their affiliations with candidates. Denominational, tribal and family alliances were the first considerations while political views and suitability for office languished at the bottom of the preference list — if at all they did.
Those who attribute the voter enthusiasm in Eastern Province to the natural competition between Shiites and Sunnis for political power may have a point. It may be, given the region’s position, that some voters felt particularly motivated about voting in a way that most in Riyadh and the Western Region do not. This theory will probably be tested when the Western Region votes next month. A likely lower turnout there than in Eastern Province will see commentators dizzy with excitement to explain the reasons. In their excitement they may even forget that in America, Europe, India, the Philippines and everywhere else where democracy is the political norm, one of the basic electoral facts of life is that voters go to the polls in their droves only when they feel that there is something important at stake. The belief that voting will not make any difference invariably translates into a low turnout. In the UK, for example, municipal elections are often marked by turnouts in the 30-40 percent range. The municipal elections do not promise any revolutionary change. The promise is the first step toward people’s participation in governance.
It is, however, difficult to draw serious conclusions about yesterday’s vote given the fact that less than 25 percent of potential electors were registered to vote. Likewise, there can be no tenable deductions when on April 21 the electorate in Western Region votes. Less than 10 percent of eligible voters there are registered till date. It may change. This is another point where perspective should not be lost. Before writing off Saudi voters as indifferent to change, we must remember that in the United States, just before the last election, political parties had to launch a massive campaign to persuade eligible voters to register themselves — blacks as well as whites. When such apathy can be there even in so mature a democracy as America’s, the phenomenon need not be treated as something peculiar to the Kingdom.
The message that comes from that is not political; it is practical. There is total unfamiliarity with the system. That needs to be addressed. If only a tenth of the electorate register and two-thirds of them then vote (the turnout in Riyadh was 82 percent), there is a serious danger of distortion. It cannot be left to a mere seven percent of all potential voters to decide who gets elected.
But when we remember that this is just the second effort to take the first step, there is every reason to look forward with excitement to the future steps.
