RIYADH: Elections are a national duty and every woman should participate in it, said Safina Abu Al-Shamat, who is the first woman to announce candidacy for the Dec. 12 municipal elections.

Safina, a graduate from the Jeddah's King Abdulaziz University who is contesting a seat in Makkah, was among the hundreds of Saudi women who began campaigning for the elections on Sunday.

For the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia, women are taking part in elections as voters and candidates.

Among the total 6,917 candidates in the fray, 979 are women, Judea Al-Qahtani, head of the General Election Committee, said. Two of the 5,938 male candidates were disqualified, said a news agency.

Safinaz said Saudi women are competent enough to participate in elections, but refused to comment on her chances of winning. “I am doing my best to get a chance to serve the community,” she said.

Al-Qahtani said the committee would coordinate with the local panels across the Kingdom to announce the final list of candidates.

“We will vote for the women even though we don’t know anything about them,” Um Fawaz, a teacher in her 20s, was quoted by a news agency as saying, in Hafr Al-Batin city. “It’s enough that they are women,” she said.

Aljazi Al-Hossaini, a candidate in Riyadh, said she did not need any man in her family to grant permission for her candidacy.

“It’s by myself,” the management consultant said.