JEDDAH, 27 April 2005 — The lists of winners in the municipality elections in their third and final phase reflected the failure of the advertising media to change the direction of the voters. The lack of response to sometimes intense below the line campaigning was seen across the six regions involved, Makkah, Madinah, Tabuk, Hail, Northern Frontier, Al-Jouf.
More than SR100 million was spent in Jeddah alone, mostly by businessmen candidates, while huge election successes were achieved by academicians in Makkah, Madinah, and Jeddah.
According to Anwar Mahdi, manager of one of the advertisement agencies in Jeddah, was involved in a number of candidates’ campaigns, stated that the bulk of the election campaign money was spent on extravagant tents, open air buffets serving 100 people on a daily basis and the rental of expensive halls. He added that the estimates suggest that the amount spent on election campaigns across all regions in the Kingdom exceeded SR800 million was mostly spent on reception parties, tents, and advertisements in the media as well as printing companies, and design work.
He added that the advertisement campaigns often used modern technology with a number of candidates hosting websites for their campaign agendas and presenting their resumes. Candidates also employed specialized companies for market messages via mobiles; half a million text messages were distributed by candidates in Jeddah alone.
Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah and the Eastern Province spent the most on advertising for their campaigns while other regions were more modest, relying more on tribal loyalties, direct communication or personal relations.
The results of the voting showed that out of the 300 thousand who registered their names in the six regions where elections were held, the actual turnout of voters exceeded expectations by ranging between 60 percent in some regions to more than 77 percent in others.