RIYADH: Women will not be allowed to run as candidates or vote in this April's municipal elections due to a lack of preparations, but their involvement has not been ruled for future ballots. “This year women will not have the right to vote or stand as candidates,” said Abdul Rahman Al-Dhamash, head of the municipal council elections committee, at a press conference in Riyadh, Monday. “That might be permitted in future elections.” Al-Dahmash said that “there is no law barring women from running for election in the councils or taking part in the voting and election process,” and that “the law makes no distinction between women and men”. Instead their involvement, he said, depends on “preparations and facilities”. “The election process has to be transparent and extremely sensitive and all requirements must be subjected to monitoring,” he said. “That's why there are international standards and specifications governing the process.” Asked if foreign supervisors or other officials could be involved in the election process, Al-Dahmash said that no such request had been received. “But there will be civil authorities taking part in monitoring,” he said. New rules for this year's elections include a clampdown on personal promises, according to legal adviser Muhammad Al-Mutairi, who advised all candidates to “read carefully the list of election campaign rules and instructions and abide by them”. “New ministry regulations will serve to end some of the practices by candidates seen in previous elections, such as promises to grant land or give houses or pay for voters' children to study abroad,” he said. “New rules say that all candidate pledges in election campaigns must concern only the jurisdiction of the municipality.” Elections to the municipal councils were first held in 2005, when Saudi men voted for half the members of the 178 councils. It was announced last week that the 2011 elections for the now 285 councils will begin on April 23.
