"This will possibly affect voter turnout at polling stations across the country on Thursday," said Ahmed Khaled Oraifi, a candidate from a municipal constituency of Jeddah.

Oraifi said the candidates were not allowed to appear on TV or use radio for their campaigning.

"Voters who watch a lot of TV but aren’t well versed on the issues are most likely to be influenced by the physical appearance of political candidates," said Oraifi. "How can we reach the voters in a closed society like the Kingdom, when we were only given their names with no contact details?"

Saudi Arabia is holding nationwide elections for its 285 municipal councils today (Thursday). The elections are the focus of intense interest at home and abroad.

Candidates were only allowed to buy advertising space in newspapers, erect billboards and use a few online tools, but spending on hospitality to canvass votes was subject to a spending cap. About 1.2 million men have been registered to vote in the municipal elections. Polling will take place from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Referring to the problems faced by the candidates in canvassing voters during the campaigning period that ended Wednesday, Ahmed said the Election Commission restricted marketing tools that would have increased voter participation.

He said political endorsements by celebrities, local newspapers and religious leaders will exert little influence on the decisions of voters in Saudi Arabia, especially this year.

Abdulaziz J. Al-Hussain, a candidate from Dammam, pointed out that the Election Commission failed to organize any orientation session or educate candidates about the rules and regulations in advance.

"This led to the disqualification of about 40 candidates in the Eastern Province alone," Al-Hussain added. He, however, welcomed the overall initiative of holding elections and the announcement by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah allowing women to vote and contest in the next elections.

Asked about other grievances, Saud A. Alammar, a candidate running from Riyadh, said a number of candidates had used online forums and SMS text to promote themselves.

"We were not allowed to use other media tools like TV and I must tell you that only 20 percent or even fewer people read newspapers," said another Riyadh candidate. Abdulaziz bin Nasser Alsoryai, who is contesting in Jeddah, said the voter turnout is likely to be lower because of these problems.

"But, we expect quality voting, which means more educated people will come and cast their votes this year," said Alsoryai, adding that a voter will be allowed to vote for only one candidate. He also pointed out that there was no favored list of candidates like a list of Islamists or moderates as the case in the past. He said that this is a good start, which symbolizes the participation of Saudi citizens in the political process of the Kingdom.

"There is great enthusiasm among candidates and voters as well after the Shoura speech of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah," said Mohammed Obaid Al-Johani, a candidate in Madinah.