Whois
02-10-2005, 06:54 PM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=574&e=12&u=/nm/20050210/wl_nm/saudi_elections_dc_4
Saudi Men Vote in Landmark Election, Women Barred
Thu Feb 10,10:47 AM ET
By Dominic Evans
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi men voted in a municipal election in the capital Riyadh Thursday, the first stage in an unprecedented nationwide vote as the absolute monarchy inches toward reform.
"It took a long time to get here but we've broken through a psychological barrier, that we couldn't deal with ballot boxes," said university professor Sulaiman Enezi, who raised his arms in triumph after casting his vote.
The polls, from which women are excluded, are part of a cautious program of reform introduced by de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah. He has faced calls for change at home and from Saudi Arabia's main ally, the United States, after the Sept. 11 attacks which were carried out by mainly Saudi hijackers.
Critics say the elections are largely a cosmetic response in which few are taking part. But diplomats say the vote does at least create a mechanism for Saudis to channel concerns.
Voters are deciding just half the members of municipal councils, whose powers are likely to be limited. The government will appoint the other council members.
Women cannot vote and few men registered in the Riyadh area -- just 149,000 in a city of over four million people -- reflecting skepticism that the councils will make much difference to daily life.
"This is a crippled democracy. If you half-appointed and half-elected, it's not fair. We can take it this time. But I hope it no longer exists in the future," voter Mohammed al-Homaidan, 45, told Reuters at one of several Riyadh public buildings that were converted into polling stations.
"But it is a step toward a bigger step in future where society raises its voice and participates in decision-making."
WOMEN BARRED
Barred from the polling stations, as they are from many aspects of public life, were Saudi Arabia's women. Bucking the trend in Islamic countries like Afghanistan (news - web sites) and neighboring Iraq (news - web sites), Saudi rulers resisted calls for their participation.
"An all-male election is a lopsided one. When you exclude 50 percent of the society and allow criminal prisoners to vote this is an insult to 9 million women," historian and women's campaigner Hatoon Fassi said.
"Their message to us is that we're not citizens, we're not worthy, that we don't exist," said Fassi, who pushed for women to vote and stand in the election but was thwarted by powerful and conservative Wahhabi religious authorities.
Officials said they hoped women would have a role soon.
"Everybody was enjoying it today. It was like a wedding. Next time we will have the bride and it will be complete," said election officer Saleh al-Enezi after voting closed at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT). Around 800 out of a possible 1,317 registered men voted at his polling center in central Riyadh.
Enezi said votes would be counted by Thursday night but results were not likely to be announced before Saturday.
The Riyadh vote is the first of a three-part election for municipal councils across the country. Voting will take place in the eastern and southern provinces next month, and in western and northern Saudi Arabia in April.
It follows an appeal by President Bush (news - web sites) last week for Saudi Arabia to commit to "expanding the role of its people in determining their future."
Saudi officials counter that change must come from within and will not be rushed. "Reform in this religious society takes time. If it is not gradual, it will not give the expected results," said Labor Minister Ghazi Algosaibi.
More than 1,800 candidates are competing in the Riyadh area and some have spent millions of dollars on campaigns. They range from businessmen, tribal figures and security chiefs to academics and officials, whose enthusiasm has contrasted sharply with widespread voter apathy.
Posters of rival candidates have sprung up across Riyadh, a city so conservative that even pictures of the ruling family are rarely displayed on the streets.
Newspapers have been filled with campaign pledges and manifestos, many of them playing on a sense of injustice over wealth distribution in the oil-rich monarchy by promising to end corruption -- at least at the level of local administration.
Bedouin tents appeared on empty plots of land throughout the capital, where candidates invited supporters for nightly discussions and dinners of camel meat and rice.
-----
Camel, yummy...
Saudi Men Vote in Landmark Election, Women Barred
Thu Feb 10,10:47 AM ET
By Dominic Evans
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi men voted in a municipal election in the capital Riyadh Thursday, the first stage in an unprecedented nationwide vote as the absolute monarchy inches toward reform.
"It took a long time to get here but we've broken through a psychological barrier, that we couldn't deal with ballot boxes," said university professor Sulaiman Enezi, who raised his arms in triumph after casting his vote.
The polls, from which women are excluded, are part of a cautious program of reform introduced by de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah. He has faced calls for change at home and from Saudi Arabia's main ally, the United States, after the Sept. 11 attacks which were carried out by mainly Saudi hijackers.
Critics say the elections are largely a cosmetic response in which few are taking part. But diplomats say the vote does at least create a mechanism for Saudis to channel concerns.
Voters are deciding just half the members of municipal councils, whose powers are likely to be limited. The government will appoint the other council members.
Women cannot vote and few men registered in the Riyadh area -- just 149,000 in a city of over four million people -- reflecting skepticism that the councils will make much difference to daily life.
"This is a crippled democracy. If you half-appointed and half-elected, it's not fair. We can take it this time. But I hope it no longer exists in the future," voter Mohammed al-Homaidan, 45, told Reuters at one of several Riyadh public buildings that were converted into polling stations.
"But it is a step toward a bigger step in future where society raises its voice and participates in decision-making."
WOMEN BARRED
Barred from the polling stations, as they are from many aspects of public life, were Saudi Arabia's women. Bucking the trend in Islamic countries like Afghanistan (news - web sites) and neighboring Iraq (news - web sites), Saudi rulers resisted calls for their participation.
"An all-male election is a lopsided one. When you exclude 50 percent of the society and allow criminal prisoners to vote this is an insult to 9 million women," historian and women's campaigner Hatoon Fassi said.
"Their message to us is that we're not citizens, we're not worthy, that we don't exist," said Fassi, who pushed for women to vote and stand in the election but was thwarted by powerful and conservative Wahhabi religious authorities.
Officials said they hoped women would have a role soon.
"Everybody was enjoying it today. It was like a wedding. Next time we will have the bride and it will be complete," said election officer Saleh al-Enezi after voting closed at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT). Around 800 out of a possible 1,317 registered men voted at his polling center in central Riyadh.
Enezi said votes would be counted by Thursday night but results were not likely to be announced before Saturday.
The Riyadh vote is the first of a three-part election for municipal councils across the country. Voting will take place in the eastern and southern provinces next month, and in western and northern Saudi Arabia in April.
It follows an appeal by President Bush (news - web sites) last week for Saudi Arabia to commit to "expanding the role of its people in determining their future."
Saudi officials counter that change must come from within and will not be rushed. "Reform in this religious society takes time. If it is not gradual, it will not give the expected results," said Labor Minister Ghazi Algosaibi.
More than 1,800 candidates are competing in the Riyadh area and some have spent millions of dollars on campaigns. They range from businessmen, tribal figures and security chiefs to academics and officials, whose enthusiasm has contrasted sharply with widespread voter apathy.
Posters of rival candidates have sprung up across Riyadh, a city so conservative that even pictures of the ruling family are rarely displayed on the streets.
Newspapers have been filled with campaign pledges and manifestos, many of them playing on a sense of injustice over wealth distribution in the oil-rich monarchy by promising to end corruption -- at least at the level of local administration.
Bedouin tents appeared on empty plots of land throughout the capital, where candidates invited supporters for nightly discussions and dinners of camel meat and rice.
-----
Camel, yummy...