JEDDAH, 19 August 2004 — Prominent personalities including academics and businessmen are preparing to contest the Kingdom’s first-ever municipal elections to be held from November into early 2005.
Businessman Awad Al-Dossi, owner of Sahari Real Estate Establishment in Jeddah, has expressed his desire to contest the elections, which he described as a step in the right direction. He said the candidates should not be allowed to purchase votes.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Yamani, executive director of an oil service company, Khaled Al-Ghamdi, and Bandar Al-Fehaid, both businessmen, are other possible contestants from Jeddah.
Fifteen figures in Makkah including businessman Abdul Rahman Faqeeh, academic Rashid Al-Rajih, Adel Kaaki, Abdul Rahman Al-Subaie, Turki Ahmed Badr and Ziyad Farsy are to file their nominations.
In the Asir region, 15 people have filed their nominations. According to Okaz daily, they included a number of businessmen.
Ibrahim Aburas, municipal chairman in Khamis Mushayt, emphasized the significance of municipal councils, saying they would promote joint action to realize common interests.
In Yanbu, there are reports that 10 important figures were likely to contest the polls. They include Naji Al-Ahmedi, Saleh Al-Harbi and Faisal Mansour. Tough competition is expected between candidates in the industrial city.
According to a high-level source at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, members of the Shoura Council and regional councils can contest the polls. “The rules and regulations do not exempt them from either voting or contesting the elections,” Al-Watan daily quoted the source as saying.
Meanwhile, the chambers of commerce and industry in Makkah, Riyadh and Dammam have offered to hold three-month intensive courses for candidates on municipal work. The chambers have already presented applications to the Municipal and Rural Affairs Ministry in this respect.
The elections to pick half the members of 178 municipal councils in the Kingdom’s 13 regions will be held in three phases. Elections in the Riyadh region will be conducted in the first phase. The second phase, to be conducted before the Haj season, will cover the Eastern Province as well as the Asir, Baha, Jizan and Najran regions.
The third phase of elections in the regions of Makkah, Madinah, Qasim, Al-Jouf, the Northern Border Region, Tabuk and Hail will be held after the Haj season.
The ministry has already published the poll’s rules and regulations, which allow all Saudis aged 21 or above, except military men, to take part in the voting.
