| Saudi Arabia |
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Elections in Saudi Arabia have been historically rare. Municipal elections were held in 2005 and were planned for 2009. After two years' delay, they are to be held in 2011.[1][2] In September 2011, King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and stand in the 2015 municipal elections.[3]
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The first municipal elections in Saudi Arabia took place in 1939.[4] Elections for seats in some municipalities were held during the 1960s.[5] Municipal elections for half the councillors, with voting by men only and with male candidates only, took place in 2005.
In February 2009 it was announced that municipal elections scheduled for 2009 would be postponed indefinitely "for evaluation".[6] Reportedly, they were postponed to consider suffrage for women in the next elections.[7] The elections were eventually scheduled for 2011. All elections are municipal elections, which take place across Saudi Arabia's 178 municipalities.
Saudi Arabia's Consultative Assembly (Majlis ash-Shura), with 120 appointed members, can propose laws but the proposals do not have the status of primary legislation. No political parties are allowed in Saudi Arabia.
When Saudi Arabia held municipal elections in the 1960s, women were not allowed to vote or stand for office.[5] No further elections were held until 2005. Despite some expectation that women would be allowed to participate on that occasion, Saudi officials decided that they would not.[8] It was argued that not enough women would be available to staff female polling stations (gender segregation is normal in the country) and that only a small number of women held ID cards, which would be required in order for them to vote.[5] The same rules applied when elections were held in 2011.[9] In September 2011, King Abdullah announced that women would be granted the right to both vote and stand for election from 2012, meaning that they will be entitled to participate in the scheduled 2015 municipal elections.[10] He also stated that women would become eligible to take part in the unelected shura.[11][12] Amnesty International described the decision as "a welcome, albeit limited, step along the long road towards gender equality in Saudi Arabia, and a testament to the long struggle of women's rights activists there".[13]
As with many issues related to women's rights, women's suffrage has been a matter of public discussion in Saudi Arabia in recent years, with strongly held views on both sides.[14] It is the last country in the world to retain a gender-specific ban on political suffrage.[15]
Women are allowed to hold positions on boards of chambers of commerce. In 2008, two women were elected to the board of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. There are no women on the High Court or the Supreme Judicial Council. There is one woman in a cabinet-level position, as deputy minister for women's education.[16]
In September 2011, King Abdullah stated that women would have the right to vote and stand in the 2015 municipal elections.[3]
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