Saudi Arabian municipal elections, 2005

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Municipal elections for 178 municipalities were held in Saudi Arabia between 10 February and 21 April 2005. The first to be held in the country since the 1960s, the elections were held in three stages: the first on 10 February around the capital city of Riyadh, the second in the east and southwest on 3 March, and the third, in the north, on 21 April.[1][2]

Male citizens over the age of 21 voted for half of the members of their municipal councils. On 11 October 2004, Prince Nayef bin Abd al-Aziz, the Saudi Interior Minister, announced to a Kuwaiti newspaper that women would not be able to run as candidates or vote in the elections: "I do not think that women's participation is possible." Elections officials noted logistical concerns, such as the lack of separate women's voting booths and the fact that many women do not have identification cards, as well as opposition from conservative religious traditionalists. Saudi women's rights campaigner Hatoon al-Fassi felt that authorities giving a practical reason for non-participation of women rather than a religious reason constituted a success for women's campaigning, since arguing against practical objections is easier than arguing against religious objections.[3] Prince Mansour bin Turki bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud expressed the hope that women would be able to vote in the 2009 elections.[1] In March 2011, the delayed elections were announced for 23 April 2011.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia holds municipal elections", CNN, 10 February 2005. The source covers only the general fact of the elections.
  2. ^ Ménoret, Pascal, "The Municipal Elections in Saudi Arabia 2005: First Steps on a Democratic Path", Arab Reform Initiative, 27 December 2005. This source covers all facts in the introduction except the exact regional staging parameters. Ménoret is identified as research fellow, King Faisal Foundation for Research and Islamic Studies (presumably the King Faisal Foundation's King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies). Retrieved 2011-09-25.
  3. ^ "Interview Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi". PBS. 2004-12-10. Archived from the original on 2011-05-29. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saud/interviews/alfassi.html. Retrieved 2011-05-29. 
  4. ^ "Saudi Arabia to hold elections next month after year and a half delay". The Star/AP. 2011-03-22. Archived from the original on 2011-03-22. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/958117--saudi-arabia-to-hold-elections-next-month-after-year-and-a-half-delay. Retrieved 2011-03-22. 
  5. ^ "Women remain barred from voting as Saudi Arabia announces elections". The National (Abu Dhabi)/AP/Bloomberg. 2011-03-23. Archived from the original on 2011-03-22. http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/women-remain-barred-from-voting-as-saudi-arabia-announces-elections. Retrieved 2011-03-22. 
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