JEDDAH, 4 March 2005 — Dr. Ahmad Al-Tuwaijri, member of the Shoura Council, said he considered the municipal council election a religious rather than a political victory. He based his evaluation on the pronouncement of religious scholars who approved the municipal election after they had previously described it as “something strange to society.”
Dr. Al-Tuwaijri made his comments to Al-Jazeera channel about Saudi elections after the second stage of municipal elections in the Eastern Province, Najran, Asir, Jizan and Al-Baha.
He said the elections are taking place in many parts of the Kingdom that contain different sects; some were isolated from the political life in the past. “Elections have given them a chance to chose their own candidates and participate in a democratic process,” he said.
The elections will conclude in April with elections in the Western and Northern Regions. The elections, Dr. Al-Tuwaijri said, are a small but very important element in changing political ideas in the Kingdom. He said the coming years will witness the enlargement of both democratic and election thought.
Some critics focus on the exclusion of women from the electoral process. Announcements from officials — the latest one from Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal in London — said that women would participate in the next round of elections in four years from now. Dr. Al-Tuwaijri added that things will happen slowly in order to protect the social structure in the Kingdom.
The election experience is new in Saudi Arabia. A number of candidates in the municipal election had expert help in organizing election campaigns from outside the Kingdom, especially from Kuwait. The programs of most candidates in the Kingdom were united on improving the performance of municipality and the services provided to people. Voting varied from one candidate to another. Voters in urban areas relied on tribal connections to get votes, while voters in big cities relied on their services and history in serving society, whether on the economic, social or service level.
