Saudi men vote in historic elections and Islamists make a clean sweep, reports Rasheed Abou Al-Samh from Riyadh Saudi men went to the polls in the Riyadh region on 12 February to elect municipal council members for the first time in over 40 years. Turnout in the capital was a healthy 65 per cent according to the head of the electoral commission, Prince Mansour Bin Miteb, while turnout in some outlying areas was as high as 82 per cent. Only half the members of municipal councils in the kingdom are being elected, with the other half being appointed by the government. The names of the seven winners in the Riyadh city race were announced on 13 February. The next day, several losing candidates said they would file complaints with the electoral commission on an alleged alliance between the winners, something prohibited by the electoral regulations. Abdullah Al-Suwailem, Sulaiman Al-Rashudi, Tareq Al-Qassabi, Abdul-Aziz Al- Omari, Omar Basudan, Ibrahim Al-Quayid and Misfir Al- Bawardi were accused of forming an informal Islamist alliance and of using the backing of religious figures to get votes. They were also accused of sending short-text messages (SMS) to voters on the morning of the election, urging them to vote for them. The seven winners have denied the allegations, saying they are no more Islamist than any of the other 646 candidates that ran for seats in the capital. "Many of the candidates who lost are more Islamist than myself or any of the winners," said Al-Omari. "None of the candidates formed coalitions or used religion to win the election," said Al-Quayid, another winner. "The whole election process was democratic and transparent. All candidates who won are top professionals and moderates with Islamic orientation." Five of the winning candidates have doctorates and four of them are Western-educated. Some observers had feared that a few candidates who spent lavishly on their campaigns would be elected, but their fears were not realised. One candidate, who spent at least $1 million on his campaign, even handing out free bottles of mineral water with his face on the labels, lost the election. Advertising on television and radio was banned, so candidates had to resort to newspaper ads, pamphlets and holding daily public meetings in huge tents in which rice and lamb were served in an attempt to win votes. One candidate who wasn't elected, Suleiman Al-Salman, ran on a daring campaign platform calling for women being allowed to drive so as to cut back on the estimated 250,000 foreign drivers employed in Riyadh. He pitched this call for social change in terms of reducing traffic congestion, but his ideas may have been too radical for most voters. Voters had to wade through a seven-page, colour-coded ballot that included the names of all of the 646 candidates. "I really think the Saudis were overjoyed at voting," said one veteran Middle East analyst who witnessed the elections in Riyadh, and who requested anonymity. "The country is changing and I predict that Saudis will want more democracy in the future." Although only 140,000 men had registered to vote out of 400,000 eligible voters in the Riyadh region, a sense of joyful change was palpable in the air. "I voted for only two candidates as I didn't know anything about the others," said Raed Al-Fassi, a 25-year-old government employee, after casting his ballot in the Malaz district. "But I was still excited to be able to vote." "I chose who I was going to vote for before I came here," said Abdul-Rahman Al-Ibrahim, a senior civil servant, while clutching his handwritten list of candidates. "I voted for two engineers, one businessman and two doctors," Al-Ibrahim said after voting in the Maathar district. But not all Saudis were convinced of the government's sincerity in introducing political reforms, telling Al-Ahram Weekly they were sitting out this round of elections to see what happens. "I registered to vote," said one government employee, who asked for anonymity. "But I felt the whole process was not up to my expectations. That's why I decided to wait and see what happens." All candidates ran on similar platforms, calling for cleaner neighbourhoods, the establishment of parks and community centres, and better utility services. Women have been barred from these elections due to alleged technical reasons, but have been promised the right to vote in 2009. The municipal elections are being held in three rounds. The Eastern Province and the southwestern region go to the polls on 3 March, while the western region, which includes Mecca and Medina, goes to the polls on 21 April.
