Saudi Arabia

Articles about voting issues in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Women to run and vote in local elections without male guardian permission in 2015 | The Washington Post

Dec 302011

Women in Saudi Arabia will not need a male guardian’s approval to run or vote in municipal elections in 2015, when women will also run for office for the first time, a Saudi official said Wednesday. The change signifies a step forward in easing the kingdom’s restrictions against women, but it falls far short of what some Saudi reformers are calling for.

Shura Council member Fahad al-Anzi was quoted in the state-run al-Watan newspaper saying that approval for women to run and vote came from the guardian of Islam’s holiest sites, the Saudi king, and therefore women will not need a male guardian’s approval. The country’s Shura Council is an all-male consultative body with no legislative powers. Read More »

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Saudi Arabia Comments Off Topics: municipal elections, women voters

More countries laud voting rights for Saudi women | Saudi Gazette

Sep 282011

Several countries and international organizations have commended King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for granting voting rights to Saudi women. They include the European Union, France, Germany and the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union. The United States, Britain and Bahrain had already lauded the granting of voting rights to Saudi women describing the move as an important milestone in the history of the Kingdom.

In his address to the Shoura Council Sunday, King Abdullah gave Saudi women the right to vote and run in municipal elections as well as the right to be appointed as full members of the Shoura Council.

Catherine Ashton, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the decision is an important step forward. In a press statement Monday, Michael Mann, a spokesman for Ashton, stressed the importance of all countries in the world supporting women’s participation in parliamentary life. Read More »

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Saudi Arabia Comments Off Topics: European Union, voting rights, wpmen voters

Saudi king grants voting rights to women | CBS News

Sep 262011
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Saudi King Abdullah announced Sunday that the nation’s women will gain the right to vote and run as candidates in local elections to be held in 2015 in a major advancement for the rights of women in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom. In an annual speech before his advisory assembly, or Shura Council, the Saudi monarch said he ordered the step after consulting with the nation’s top religious clerics, whose advice carries great weight in the kingdom.

“We refuse to marginalize the role of women in Saudi society and in every aspect, within the rules of Sharia,” Abdullah said, referring to the Islamic law that governs many aspects of life in the kingdom.

The right to vote is by far the biggest change introduced by Abdullah, considered a reformer, since he became the country’s de facto ruler in 1995 during the illness of King Fahd. Abdullah formally ascended to the throne upon Fahd’s death in August 2005. Read More »

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Saudi Arabia Comments Off Topics: social media, voting rights, women voters

Saudi women to be given voting rights | ABC News

Sep 262011
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Saudi King Abdullah has announced women will be given the right to vote and run in municipal elections, the only public polls in the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom. He also announced women would have the right to join the all-appointed Shura (consultative) Council, in an address opening a new term of the council.

“Starting with the next term, women will have the right to run in municipal elections and to choose candidates, according to Islamic principles,” he said.

This means that women will be able to take part in the elections that will be held in four years, as the next vote is due to take place on Thursday, and nominations for those polls are already in. Read More »

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Saudi Arabia Comments Off Topics: voting rights, women voters

Saudi society to change forever | Arab News

Sep 262011

Chairman of the Municipal Election Commission Abdul Rahman Al-Dahmash said the participation of women in the next election as voters and candidates would strengthen the Kingdom’s electoral experience. He hoped the spirit of the National Day would encourage all Saudis to participate actively in the Sept. 29 elections.

Jedaie Al-Qahtani, spokesman of the commission, described the king’s announcement as historic. “It allows women to participate in municipal elections on an equal footing with men,” he pointed out. He said the decision came in line with the king’s desire to involve all members of the society in nation-building efforts.

Speaking about the coming elections, Al-Qahtani urged all voters to show their IDs or other identification documents when entering polling booths. Voters will be presented a list of candidates and each one is allowed to vote once. If they mark more than one candidate the vote will be invalid. Read More »

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Saudi Arabia Comments Off Topics: United Nations, women voters

Ban on women taking part in Saudi elections brings call for a boycott | The National

Sep 232011

More than 5,000 men will compete in Saudi Arabia’s upcoming municipal elections: but no women, and nor will women be allowed to vote. The election commission announced the massive interest yesterday as candidates began campaigning for votes.

The elections, only the second in Saudi Arabia’s history, are scheduled for September 29 and are for half the seats in the kingdom’s 285 municipal councils. The other half are appointed by the government. Like the landmark elections for municipal council seats held in 2005, this year’s poll bans women from participating. As a result, more than 60 Saudi intellectuals and activists have called for a boycott of the ballot. Read More »

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Saudi Arabia Comments Off Topics: enfranchisement, women voters

Municipal Elections: Tough Lessons Learned from Islamic Conservatives | Eurasia Review

Sep 172011

The Sept. 29 municipal elections in Saudi Arabia mark the second round of polling in six years and the third in almost 50 years. The latest scheduled elections ostensibly will bring Saudis closer to developing democratic ideals espoused in the West. However, the elections also have prompted criticism from Saudi activists who assert that the electoral system prevents half the population from representation by denying women the right to vote and that it gives an edge to religious conservatives.

The September elections followed a voter registration drive in May and a short period through early June that permitted candidates to register their campaigns. Ultimately, voters will go to the polls in September to elect men to 1,632 seats in 258 municipal elections. Half the municipal council seats throughout the Kingdom are appointed by royal decree. In 2005, 1,212 seats were open on 179 councils. Saudi authorities have banned women from voting or registering as candidates. Read More »

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Saudi Arabia Comments Off Topics: Muslim Brotherhood, tahrir square, voter registration

Civic poll candidates given 11 days to campaign in Saudi Arabia | Arab News

Jun 142011

Candidates contesting in the Sept. 29 civil polls have been given 11 days from Sept. 18 to 28 for campaigning and they can use the Internet and social media for the purpose, said Abdul Rahman Al-Dahmash, chairman of the General Election Commission.

“The commission has not banned the candidates from using the Internet and electronic websites during their election campaign as long as they do not violate the general rules,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Al-Dahmash as saying. Read More »

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Saudi Arabia Comments Off Topics: electioneering, local election

Civic election candidates warned against violating Saudi campaign rules | Arab News

Jun 132011

The General Election Commission announced on Saturday that it would not allow any illegal practices by candidates during their poll campaigns. It said as many as 5,609 are contesting the municipal council elections scheduled to be held on Sept. 29.

Jedaie Al-Qahtani, spokesman of the commission, said candidates should obtain special permission from local election committees to carry out election campaigns and publicity. “Candidates should follow certain rules and regulations during campaigns in order to avoid disciplinary action,” he said.

The commission said it had observed a number of illegal practices during the last election when some candidates formed alliances while some others circulated a list of candidates on the basis of tribes and ideological inclinations. Read More »

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Saudi Arabia Comments Off Topics: electioneering, local election, women's vote

Shoura favors women voting in Saudi Arabia | Arab News

Jun 072011
Saudi women are banned from driving and cannot travel without being authorized by a male guardian. When in public, they have to cover their bodies from head to toe

The Shoura Council recommended to the government on Monday that it take necessary measures to allow Saudi women to vote in municipal elections under Islamic law.

The decision was taken unanimously by members of the council, which also discussed the annual report of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs during its 38th regular session, chaired by the Shoura Chairman Abdullah Al-Asheikh in Riyadh on Sunday. Read More »

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Saudi Arabia Comments Off Topics: voting rights, women's vote
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