2011 Saudi Arabian municipal elections

Municipal elections in Saudi Arabian towns and cities, initially planned for 31 October 2009,[1] were held on 29 September 2011[2] (a week after the initial date of 22 September 2011).[3] Women were not allowed to participate in the elections.[1][4][5] Women campaigned for the right to participate in the official elections[6] and planned to create parallel municipal councils.[7]

Saudi Arabian municipal elections, 2011

29 September 2011
1056 seats in 285 municipalities

Background

Municipal elections were originally planned to be held on 31 October 2009 in Saudi Arabia.[1] The elections were not held in 2009. Governmental authorities stated that the delay was caused by the need to "expand the electorate and study the possibility of allowing women to vote."[1] Associated Press described the announcement that an election would be held in 2011 as having "coincided with rumblings of dissent in Saudi Arabia stemming from the wave of political unrest in the Arab world."[1] On 22–23 March 2011, officials of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural affairs announced that the elections would be held on 22 September 2011.[3]

Half of the local council seats were to be decided in the election and the other half were to be appointed.[1][4] The councils have "little power".[1][4]

Electoral process

Voter registration took place from 23 April to 19 May[1][3][4][8][9] or 28 July.[10] Candidate registration took place from 28 May to 2 June.[3]

The period of electoral campaigning was to be decided after candidate registration had closed.[3] The municipal councils were to be created in October, following the election, for a term of 6 years.[3]

Electoral commission

The Ministry of Municipal and Rural affairs set up an 11-member electoral commission, headed by Abdul-Rahman al-Dahmash[1][4] and an executive committee that "will facilitate the operations of the special electoral commission, and [will] take all the necessary measures to ensure the success of the municipal elections."[3]

Women's participation

In late March, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural affairs stated that women would not vote in the 2011 elections "because of the kingdom's social customs".[1] King Saud University history lecturer and human rights activist Hatoon al-Fassi involved in campaigning for women's participation in elections stated that women had decided to create their own municipal councils in parallel to the men-only elections.[7] Al-Fassi stated that women creating their own municipal councils or participating in "real elections" were both legal under Saudi law and electoral commission head al-Dahmash agreed with her.[7]

Saudi Arabian women organised through the "Baladi" (My Country) and Saudi Women's Revolution[11] to campaign for women's participation in the election.[6] From 23–25 April, women in Jeddah,[12] Riyadh and Dammam tried to register as electors. The Gulf News said that "strong public opinion ... supporting women's participation in the election process" followed local newspapers' publication of photos of women waiting in queues to register for the election. Fawzia Al Hani, chair of the "Baladi" Facebook campaign, said that Saudi Arabian law states that women have the right to vote and to stand as candidates.[9][13]

One of the women whose registration had been rejected, Samar Badawi, filed a lawsuit in the Grievances Board, a non-Sharia court,[14] against the Ministry of Municipal and Rural affairs, claiming that there was no law banning women as voters or candidates and that the refusal was illegal. She cited Articles 3 and 24 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which refer to general and election-specific anti-discrimination, respectively. Badawi requested the Grievances Board to suspend the electoral procedures pending the Board's decision and to order the electoral authorities to register her as a voter and as eligible to be a candidate. On 27 April 2011, the Grievances Board accepted to hear her case at a later date.[15] The Board's final decision was that Badawi's case was "premature".[16] According to the United States Department of State, Badawi was the first person to file a lawsuit for women's suffrage in Saudi Arabia.[17]

Badawi also applied to the Municipal Elections Appeal Committee to reverse the refusal of her registration. Her application was refused on the grounds that appeals against registration refusals must take place within three days of the refusal.[16]

In an annual speech on 25 September 2011 before the Shura Council, King Abdullah stated that Saudi women would be able to run and cast ballots in the 2015 municipal elections.[18]

Results

The elections covered 1056 seats in the councils of 285[5][19] municipalities around Saudi Arabia.

See also

• List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia
• Women's suffrage

References

1. "Saudi Arabia to hold elections next month after year and a half delay". Toronto Star/AP. 2011-03-22. Archived from the original on 2011-03-22. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
2. http://www.speroforum.com/a/60670/Saudi-Arabia---Ban-on-Saudi-women-leads-to-election-boycott
3. Abeed al-Suhaimy (2011-03-23). "Saudi Arabia announces municipal elections". Asharq al-Awsat. Archived from the original on 2011-04-02. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
4. "Women remain barred from voting as Saudi Arabia announces elections". The National (Abu Dhabi)/AP/Bloomberg. 2011-03-23. Archived from the original on 2011-03-22. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
5. "Saudis vote in municipal elections, results on Sunday". Oman Observer/AFP. 2011-09-30. Archived from the original on 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
6. Donna Abu-Nasr (2011-03-28). "Saudi Women Inspired by Fall of Mubarak Step Up Equality Demand". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 2011-04-02. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
7. "In aim to start casting their votes Saudi women aim to create their own municipal council". Al Arabiya. March 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-04-02. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
8. Early reports stated 23 April as the election date.
9. Abdul Nabi Shaheen (2011-04-26). "Saudi women defy ban to register for polls". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 2011-04-25. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
10. Asma Alsharif; Joseph Logan (2011-04-26). "Saudi elections - Women seek vote". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2011-04-26.
11. Mona Kareem (2011-03-18). "The Saudi Women Revolution Statement". Mona Kareem Blog. Archived from the original on 2011-04-06. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
12. "Voters register for Saudi municipal elections". Al Jazeera English. 2011-04-23. Archived from the original on 2011-04-25. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
13. Rob L. Wagner (2011-09-09). "Saudi Arabia's Municipal Elections: Tough Lessons Learned from Islamic Conservatives". Eurasia Review. Archived from the original on 2011-04-02. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
14. Metz, Helen Chaplin (1992). "The Legal System. Saudi Arabia: A Country Study". United States Library of Congress. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
15. "Aspiring woman voter takes ministry to court". Saudi Gazette. 2011-04-29. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
16. "Woman's vote claim rejected". Saudi Gazette. 2011-05-29. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
17. "2012 International Women of Courage Award Winners". US Dept of State. 2012-02-05. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
18. Saudi king: Women can vote in local elections USA Today. 25 September 2011.
19. "Women plan to show up at poll centers". Arab News. 2011-04-22. Archived from the original on 2011-04-25. Retrieved 2011-04-25.

External links

• Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) (Arabic)
• women's suffrage "Baladi" campaign (Arabic)