RIYADH — The voting registration period for city council elections will end on Monday in all areas of the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. A source said citizens will not be able to vote in the elections if they have not registered in respective constituencies where they reside. “Voting centers across the Kingdom were impressed by the turnout of women and young people to register," the source said. The holy cities of Makkah and Madinah started the registration a week earlier than other regions and ended it earlier due to logistic issues created by the arrival of pilgrims. The source said the registration ended in Makkah and Madinah on Sept. 8 in order to free streets for pilgrims. “The Kingdom has a total of 1,263 election centers in all of its provinces and 424 of them were reserved for women. There were also 250 additional centers in case the main centers were overcrowded,” said the source. The source said the elections are run by 16 committees and 343 election directorates under the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. “The voting will take place on Dec. 12. Voters should think critically about the candidate they vote for and they should have their community's public interest in mind. Their votes should not be based on personal bias or nepotism,” said the source. City Council Elections Committee spokesman Jadie Al-Qahtani said each voter has only one vote to cast. “Voters will be able to vote for only one of the candidates registered in their respective constituencies. This way, voters will be able to focus on the candidate who will represent them instead of voting for candidates in other areas who will not represent them,” said Al-Qahtani. He also said voters will also be able to hold the member they voted for accountable in case they are unsatisfied with their performance.
