RIYADH, 27 October 2003 — There will be no elections for the Shoura Council, the consultative body’s President Saleh Bin-Humaid said yesterday, denying press reports that elections would be held in three years.
Bin-Humaid said the report in the pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper was inaccurate. “We do not have elections, and this matter has not been discussed either in this or in previous sessions,” he said.
The president also denied a report in Al-Riyadh newspaper yesterday that he had told Austrian Parliament Speaker Andreas Kohl that women would be part of the Council.
“It could be that the translation was misinterpreted,” he said about comments from Austrian sources quoted by the newspaper.
“The involvement of women has not been discussed by the Shoura. However, there is no objection to learning from women through their efforts in research or as listeners in some sessions,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Council failed yesterday for the second week running to arrive at a consensus on revised regulations for granting Saudi citizenship to foreigners.
The Ministry of the Interior had passed to the Council eight points in the law to discuss, revise and later submit to the Cabinet for approval.
There was heated debate on the Council floor about some of the points. Some members said the matter was impossible to resolve in one or two sessions and asked that a special committee study the entire law thoroughly taking into account the changes in the Saudi economy.
Members said the fact that the law has not been changed for 50 years was itself a matter of debate.
One of the eight articles says citizenship can be granted on request to foreigners who have lived here continuously for more than 10 years on the condition that they have a professional qualification — doctors, engineers or scientists — speak Arabic, are Muslims, and have immersed themselves in Saudi culture, customs and traditions.
Some members challenged the Muslims-only stipulation. “We do not want to be seen as prejudiced people, especially since Saudi Arabia is in the spotlight at the moment,” said one prominent member.
“Islam allows Muslims to marry Christians and Jews. On what basis are we saying that only a Muslim can be naturalized? This will only cause people to think we are prejudiced. It will encourage hatred against us,” he added.
But other members emphasized Saudi Arabia was the birthplace of Islam and home to its two holiest mosques. “The fact that the government only wants to grant citizenship to Muslims is a matter of pride, not prejudice,” one member said.
Another disputed topic was an article that states that citizenship can be withdrawn within 10 years if naturalized citizens commit a crime which carry prison terms of more than one year or if they are convicted of a felony related to national security.
“This is totally unfair,” said one member. “First we ask the foreigner to give up his current nationality so we can grant him Saudi citizenship. And then we strip him of it because he commits a crime in the following 10 years?
“Anyone can get into a street fight or a commit a small felony and be sentenced to more than a year in jail. What will happen to this person when we strip him of his nationality? Is he going to remain without citizenship?”
One member said that granting citizenship is like striking a deal. It was based on an agreement between the two parties and that each side did what it found acceptable.
“The country’s citizens have a greater claim than naturalized citizens. Their ancestors built the country. Hence it is only natural that the government safeguards the safety of the country and its people,” he said.
Several voices in the Shoura said the entire draft should be sent back to the Ministry of the Interior and the complete law revised instead of just fragments of it.
Discussion of the law continues next week.
