RIYADH: Over 1.5 million citizens across the Kingdom have registered for the municipal council elections. The registration process started on April 21 and ended Wednesday. Meanwhile, Nasser Al-Dawood, Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Municipal Elections in Riyadh, said a committee to oversee the elections was formed by Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Muhammad Bin Ayyaf, Mayor of Riyadh and chairman of the Local Committee for Municipal Elections. The executive committee for the municipal elections in the region's governorate and centers consists of a chief and a supporting team including 10 employees. He said the capital city has been divided into three zones consisting of 47 municipalities and 70 polling centers. The north zone is headed by Muhammad Bin Ibrahim Al-Kharif, assisted by eight employees and includes 13 municipalities and 18 polling centers. The western zone is chaired by Muhammad Bin Mutlaq Al-Otaibi aided by eight employees and consists of 21 municipalities and 27 polling centers and the third and last southern zone is led by Saleh Bin Ali Al-Yousif including 13 municipalities and 25 polling centers. He said the supervisory committee is mainly tasked with removing all obstacles, answering questions and receiving daily reports on the closure of the centers and number of voters. The Kingdom held its first municipal elections in 2005. The second such elections were scheduled for Oct. 31, 2009, but the government delayed them, saying it needed time to expand the electorate.
