• Voter registration to start Aug. 22 • Last date for nominations Sept. 14 • Campaigning will end on Dec. 10 • Voting on Dec. 12, results next day
Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — The executive committee supervising the Kingdom's third municipal council elections has said all arrangements have been completed for the voting in December. The committee asked all citizens to register for voting in their respective constituencies when the process starts on Aug. 22. "Citizens should vote for candidates who are experience and qualified. They should stay away from all forms of fanaticism and sectarianism," said Hamad Al-Omar, head of the committee's media team. For the first time in the history of the Kingdom, women are allowed to vote and run in elections. Sixteen election committees are working all over the Kingdom under the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to prepare for the event. Al-Omar said the information and publicity campaign would be intensified in the coming days. "The campaign will use print and electronic media, in addition to the social media tools," he added. In press statements carried by the local media on Monday, Al-Omar said the publicity campaign would urge the citizens to register their names in voters' lists so as to be able to exercise their franchise and play an effective role in choosing their representatives in civic bodies. The first stage of the elections will start on Aug. 22 with candidates and voters registering their names. The voting will take place on Dec. 12 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the results will be announced the next day. The committee approved 1,263 voting centers in 284 municipalities all over the Kingdom. It also approved the establishment of 250 reserve voting centers to be used if necessary. According to the election schedule, the registration of candidates and voters will continue until Sept. 14. Preliminary lists of voters will be published on Sept. 29 and the final lists with necessary amendments if any will be out on Nov. 9. The last date for candidates to pull out of the race is Nov. 19. The final lists of the candidates will be announced 10 days later. Canvassing of votes will begin on Nov. 29 and continue for 11 days until Dec. 11, which will be a day of electoral silence. The ministry said display of photographs of canditates for canvassing votes is banned. The ban was announced after an executive committee meeting on Sunday. The meeting chaired by Agdia Qahtani discussed several reports from local committees and centers. The committee will meet to review periodic reports about the progress of preparations from the local committees.
