JEDDAH, 22 April 2005 — Saudi men went to the polls enthusiastically in large numbers yesterday in the final round of landmark municipal elections.
Polling was smooth in the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. exercise but turnout was low at the 45 election centers in Jeddah. An estimated 50 percent of over 80,000 registered voters cast their ballots in Jeddah, according to various official sources. This included 5,500-5,700 in Jeddah itself.
Contesting for the seven Jeddah seats are 548 candidates all counting on some of the 80,000 to vote for them. Voters were to choose 7 candidates, one in each of the 7 precincts of Jeddah.
Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed and Jeddah Governor Prince Mishaal ibn Majed led the voters to elect seven Municipal Council members. Speaking to newsmen at a polling station, Prince Abdul Majeed stressed how important it was for the old and the young to participate in the election.
Osama Abalkhail, the official spokesman for the elections said that the results would be announced by Jeddah Mayor Adel Faqeeh tomorrow at 11 a.m.
As the sunny day progressed, the flow of voters picked up steam in some centers. Abu Mohammad, after casting his vote at around 11 a.m., said “Maybe choosing a Thursday for election day wasn’t a good idea if they really wanted everyone to vote. Who is going to wake up at 8 a.m. on a Thursday just to vote?”
Other voters said they were not familiar enough with any of the candidates to vote for them.
Hamad Al-Ghamdi said, “Sure, I toured some of the candidates’ tents, but there was nothing tempting enough to cast my vote for.”
Faisal Bataweel, a Jeddah candidate, said: “There’s no way of predicting the results of the elections. The results could be influenced by 3 elements — tribalism, religion and liberalism. And I thank Sheikh Salman Al-Owdah for saying that ‘the golden list’ was incorrect as Okaz reported.”
He added, “The so-called golden list ruined the elections. What’s the point of campaigns if only those on a recommended list are to be chosen?”
He was referring to a list of seven candidates recommended by prominent religious scholars. In certain areas, however, residents came out in full force especially in the Al-Khaldiya district.
“We have come to exercise our right to vote,” said Jeddah businessman Mohammadali Alireza. Former Saudi Ambassador to Kazakhstan Ibrahim Mosly told Arab News that it was always my dream to vote. I made sure I was not traveling today.
It is a great day for all Saudis, he added saying this is a start. He was critical of those who did not register and missed a historic chance. “We have to start somewhere,” Mosly added.
“I hope the next elections will see women’s participation,” said an academic who had also brought his teenage sons and daughter to look as he cast his vote.
The public relations manager for the Western Region municipality, Yousef Al-Tuwaem, said that he voted for the candidates who have a long history of serving the city of Jeddah — families such as Jamjoom, Batterjee, Abu Zinada as well as others.” He also said that though the elections were the first to be held in the country, the process was smooth and easy.
Dr. Bandar ibn Mohammad Al-Hajjar, the president of the National Council for Elections Observation and president of the National Society for Human Rights, said that 676 observers were assigned to cover 258 election centers in Makkah, Jeddah, Taif, Madinah, Tabuk, Qasim, Hail, Al-Jouf, and the Northern Region which went to the polls yesterday in the final phase of the three-stage election process that began in February.
Observers noted that candidates’ representatives were present in some of the election centers and tried to influence voters, a violation that was stopped by officials at the centers. Another problem that polling officials encountered was confirmation of identification. Each voter had to present his registration card as well as his ID card — something that was the cause of many voters to be turned away.
At some centers polling officials took a lunch break during the election process which prevented people from casting their votes.
Reports from Madinah said voters began to flock to election centers early in the day. However, turnout was reported low in some centers like Al-Haram municipality center. The highest number of voters was recorded at the Quba municipality center where a total of 4,359 voters cast their ballots out of 6,144 registered voters.
The unofficial number of voters in the Madinah region was put at 25,052 out of a total number of 44,378 registered. The unofficial number of voters in Madinah was 14,898 voters out of 25,723 registered. The total number of voters outside Madinah was 10,154 out of 18,655 registered voters.
The Yanbu municipality recorded the highest number of voters with a total number of 2,140 out of 4,147 registered voters. The Al-Olaa province recorded 1,471 voters out of 2,175 registered, Khaybar province recorded 1,375 voters out of 1,974 voters registered and Wadi Farie province recorded 1,302 voters out of 1,549 registered.
One of the municipal centers in Al-Akeek Municipality, Al-Fateh High school, did not open until 11 a.m. due to some problem. Sources told Arab News that the center experienced technical difficulties and the center had to be closed for three hours till the problem was fixed. — With input from Somayya Jabarti and Mahmoud Ahmad.
