RIYADH, 2 November 2003 — Excerpts of debates in the Kingdom’s Shoura Council are to be shown in a weekly television program for the first time, Sheikh Saleh Bin-Humaid, the Shoura chairman, has said. The first program was aired yesterday.
The decision to air a program on the Shoura is part of ongoing reforms in the Kingdom. It will broadcast reports and briefings of the Shoura Council.
According to Bin-Humaid, “the program seeks to involve the public in the activities of the council.”
Council sessions were not previously televised but diplomats, journalists and citizens were able to attend the proceedings by request or invitation.
Fahd Al-Onaizy, a Shoura member, said: “The Consultative Council has emerged as a significant institution in the law-making process of the Kingdom.
“Therefore it has to educate people about its role, its functions and its activities by airing such TV programs.
“The council has played a significant part in speeding up political and administrative changes initiated by the Saudi government,” Al-Onaizy added.
Since its formation in 1993, the 120-member Shoura has dealt mainly with economic and social issues, debating matters like citizenship laws and rejecting a proposal to levy taxes on Saudi Arabia’s seven million expatriate workers.
Its members are appointed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd.
