The defacing of the posters have occurred in areas where many candidates are contesting, and the affected aspirants have lodged complaints against such activity.

While announcing Riyadh’s readiness for the elections, Mayor Prince Abdul Aziz Ayah said he was looking forward to the election of all municipal council members and participation of women.

“I and other officials of the Municipal and Rural Affairs Ministry are also looking forward to municipal councils getting more powers,” he said.

Prince Abdul Aziz said preparations are complete and all polling booths are ready for the election. “We are now waiting for the voters to come,” he added. He said though the campaigning provides an inkling of the contenders’ capabilities, the publication of candidates’ biodata would give voters a clear idea about their qualifications.

Meanwhile, Arab News noticed that only a few of the 5,324 candidates were using an election website set up by a public relations company. It allows the candidates to upload all information about them.

From the 120 candidates in Jeddah only four opted to use the website while from 192 candidates in Riyadh only eight have so far uploaded information about themselves onto the website. From 96 candidates in Dammam only one has used the electronic facility.

Unlike the last election five years ago, many young men have registered this time as candidates in various parts of the country. This shows their desire to strengthen municipal councils with new blood.

According to a survey conducted in Madinah on the basis of views expressed by 443 people, 76 percent said they would not vote while 20 percent said they would. Four percent were undecided.

Jedaie Al-Qahtani, spokesman of the election panel, has told candidates that they are not allowed to campaign in places such as mosques, government institutions, educational institutions, charitable societies, sports and cultural clubs and foreign embassies and consulates.

Aayed Al-Balayheshi, spokesman of the election committee in Madinah, said candidates should abide by the regulations. During campaigning, they should not damage the environment and use stickers that are removable.

The rules also specify that no government institution is allowed to provide any moral or financial support to a candidate, while campaigning should be carried out individually and not as a group or alliance.

Candidates are not allowed to give any gifts or grants or service to win votes. They should not use any religious, historical or tribal figures to mobilize votes.

Candidates are not allowed to use television channels and radios inside and outside the Kingdom as well as send SMS and MMS for electoral purposes. They should inform the committee the sources of financing used for the campaign.