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RIYADH — Citizens all over the Kingdom except the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah on Saturday started registering to vote in the nationwide municipal council elections in December.

A source from the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs said the registration process would continue for 21 days. Candidate registration will start on Aug. 30 in all regions except in Makkah and Madinah, where the process will begin on Sunday.

Women are registering to vote in the elections for the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia.

JEDDAH: Abdullah Al-Mansour, deputy secretary-general for municipal council affairs at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, said election regulations explicitly prohibit all forms of mixing between men and women, be they candidates or voters.
He said regulations stipulate separate electoral centers for male and female voters. Male candidates can address female voters at the women’s centers through audio circuit or CCTV, while female candidates can address voters at the men’s centers through closed audio circuit. 

JEDDAH: Candidates contesting the municipal elections have been asked to strictly abide by the code of conduct for organizing poll campaigns.
The move comes from Municipal and Rural Affairs Minister Abdul Lateef Al-Asheikh, who also heads the General Committee for the Municipal Elections.
In a circular, he stressed the importance of following the rules and regulations, from the time they submit an application for seeking a license to organize campaigns.
The campaigns can be launched within 15 days of the date of announcement of the list of candidates.

JEDDAH: The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has suspended the Baladi Initiative, triggering a debate as some commercial establishments have already started training workshops and seminars for females in view of the forthcoming civic polls and many are about to launch the same.
A local publication on Saturday said, quoting sources, that the ministry may be planning to organize these courses itself to ensure that they are not used for commercial purposes.

JEDDAH: In its bid to make the polls fair and transparent, the executive committee for elections of municipal councils has announced that anyone found buying votes will have to serve one year in prison or pay a SR50,000 fine or both, according to a report in the local media.
Jadee bin Nahar Al-Qahtani, president of the executive committee, said elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure a fair and smooth election process.

JEDDAH: The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has set up 343 electoral constituencies for the Dec. 12 municipal council elections.

This was done on the orders of Abdullatif Al-Sheikh, the minister and head of the General Committee for the Municipal Elections, said Abdullah Al-Mansour, deputy secretary general for municipal council affairs.

JEDDAH: Municipal councils must have two-thirds of their members elected at the polls taking place on Dec. 12, a local publication reported recently.

The government had announced last year that municipal councils can have up to 30 members, depending on the area they serve. The Municipal and Rural Affairs Ministry has been empowered to appoint one-third of the members. Only half were previously elected.

The law overseeing councils states that mayors are members and have the power to determine who stand in their place if they are absent.

MADINAH: Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman has honored the top performing government departments in the region at a ceremony here.