JEDDAH, 26 January 2005 — Some 1,900 candidates are in the fray for seven seats in the 14-member Riyadh Municipal Council in the Kingdom’s nationwide civic polls on Feb. 10. The polls will select half the members of 178 municipal councils. Some 130,000 voters have registered to vote in Riyadh. The candidates are making preparations for election campaigning. According to Al-Eqtisadiah business daily, they will likely spend an average of SR200,000. Some candidates have set aside SR1 million for campaigning, the newspaper added.
Riyadh which is first in the elections is set to witness a tough battle as well-known figures including academics, businessmen and intellectuals have been nominated for places on the municipal councils. Sultan Al-Bazie, a spokesman for the Election Supervising Committee, said the final list of candidates would be published on Saturday after which campaigning would begin.
“Candidates can make use of the media for the campaigning,” he said, adding that an election campaign is important for both candidates and voters. “It will give the public an idea which candidate is suitable to become a council member,” he explained. The campaign will also give candidates an opportunity to present their programs for the development of the municipality.
Al-Bazie emphasized, however, that candidates should not cross certain lines during the campaigning. They are not allowed to cause chaos and dissension or trigger racial, tribal or regional conflicts. “Nobody should use campaigning to encroach upon the rights and freedom of others,” he said.
Al-Bazie said registration had gained momentum during the last three days when some registration centers witnessed a large turnout of voters. Analysts expect serious competition among candidates who are expected to use all possible means to send their message and election programs to voters.
According to the rules and regulations, candidates must conduct the campaigning individually within the scheduled time.
