RIYADH, 15 May 2005 — The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs will announce the final list of elected and nominated candidates within a few days to ensure immediate constitution of all municipal councils across the Kingdom and to make them operational as early as possible.
The elected councilors in Riyadh have already started holding informal meetings and are currently studying the municipal models of major world cities like London, Tokyo, Istanbul and Chicago.
“We are waiting for the ministry to announce the nominated members,” Dr. Ibrahim ibn Hamad Al-Quayid, an elected member of the Riyadh Municipal Council, said yesterday.
As per rules, half the members of the 178 municipal councils in the Kingdom will be nominated by the government. A total of 592 people have been elected through landmark polls nationwide.
The polls were held in three phases. The Riyadh region voted on Feb. 10. Voting in the second round, which covers the Eastern and Southern regions, took place on March 3, while Western and Northern regions voted in the final phase on April 21.
Al-Quayid, who is also a member of the Saudi Arabia’s National Society for Human Rights, said the ministry’s announcement is likely to clarify details of the formal constitution of the municipal councils including members’ duties, their salaries and other benefits.
A chairman and a deputy chairman for every municipal council will be chosen from amongst the members by an electoral college composed of all elected and nominated members.
Al-Quayid also spoke on how Riyadh and Jeddah winners have been labeled “Islamists”.
“The political system in Saudi Arabia is based on Islam. More than 90 percent of people in this country are ‘Islamists’, but they are not extremists or terrorists. Hence, an Islamist will have always a fair chance to win any election,” he said.
Candidates on a so-called “golden list” endorsed by religious scholars swept to victory in all major city councils including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah and Madinah.
Rejecting calls for disqualifying those elected from the “golden list”, election official Abdullah Al-Subail said that it was wrong to label the victorious candidates as Islamists because “we are all Muslims, there is no question of Muslims and non-Muslims”.
“We don’t care about gold lists, silver lists or bronze lists, what concerns us is the view of the voter., Al-Subail said last month after the results of the final phase of the elections were announced.
Al-Quayid, who is a former assistant secretary-general of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), said that the elected members are not yet formally at work. He said the municipal councils in all the 13 provinces would become functional only after the ministry releases the final list and publicizes the operational guidelines.
“Riyadh Mayor Prince Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin has assured us that a separate office away from the municipality building in Riyadh with all essential equipment and support staff will be made available for the members of the council,” Al-Quayid said.
He pointed out that the elected members of the Riyadh Municipality started holding informal meetings to work out strategies on how to contribute constructively to municipal plans and projects.
“We are also working to identify our priorities and a common list will be prepared soon,” he said, adding that a common proposal to open several “Neighborhood Centers” — modeled on social clubs — in various districts of the capital has been strongly supported by all elected members.
These centers are primarily designed for the people of the constituencies. They will function as a forum for socializing with people besides serving as centers of entertainment, cultural programs and educational activities.
