The committee did not identify the complainant.

The woman said the prevention was not legal and deprived her of her right to cast her vote. Men under the age of 21 and women are prohibited from voting in the elections for half of the country's municipal council members. Women are also not allowed to run for municipal council positions.

According to the sources, the woman applied several times to register her name in vain.

The sources said the committee studied the woman's plea under the elections' rules and regulations and unanimously decided not to accept her plea. The committee said its decision was final and could not be appealed under Article 38 of the municipal elections charter.

The sources said many women had approached the balloting centers during the registration period but all of them they had been turned down.

The municipal elections, set earlier for Sept. 22, will now be held on Sept. 29.

The election commission had said the number of people who registered their names for voting this time was less than that in the previous election, which was held six years ago. However, those who registered in the previous election were not required to re-register this time unless their locations have changed.

Abdul Rahman Al-Dahmash, chairman of the election commission, said only 1.2 million people, who are registered with the commission, will be able to cast their votes.

According to the latest census conducted on April 28, 2010, there are 18,707,576 Saudis including 9,527,173 males representing 50.9 percent and 9,180,403 females. The number of expatriates is 8,429,401 out of whom 5,932,974 are males, representing 70.4 percent.

Saudi Arabia held phased elections for half the seats on municipal councils in 2005 for the first time in over 40 years. They excluded women from voting or running as candidates. Another round was due in 2009 but the government announced a delay of two years.