Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — The local committee for the upcoming third municipal elections here has dropped out a total of 6,922 men and women voters for various errors or incomplete data. The committee's spokesman, Saud Al-Tuwaim, said 21 new candidates were added to the list of the contenders. He said the voters who were registered for the previous elections were 91,547 to which 26,248 new voters were added raising the total number of eligible voters in Jeddah and its suburbs to 117,795. Tuwaim, according to Al-Madina newspaper, said 3,554 male and female voters were dropped out due to incomplete data and 3,368 others were dismissed due to change of residence or because they did not cancel their previous registration in their old constituency. "The total number of the dropped out voters has therefore reached 6,922," he said. Tuwaim said there were 464 candidates but after thorough scrutiny of the contenders in some of the city's suburbs, the number was increased by 21 candidates to reach a total of 485. He said the committee has already started receiving requests for licenses for the electoral campaigns from male and female candidates. "The doors for the licenses will be open for 15 days but the licenses will only be given to candidates after the final list of contenders is officially announced on Nov. 29," he said. Voting to choose 284 municipal councils all over the Kingdom begins on Dec. 12 and the results will be announced the same day. "No electoral campaign will be launched before receiving the formal licenses," Tuwaim warned. He said offices to grant the licenses were opened at the headquarters of Jeddah municipality and the other branch municipalities which are manned with qualified personnel.
