Okaz/Saudi Gazette TAIF — Religious conservatives here put up posters and distributed handbills discouraging voters from voting for women candidates in the municipality elections on Saturday. A source from the Taif Municipal and Rural Affairs Directorate said the third phase of the municipality elections began with voters remaining undecided about who they will vote for. "This round was described as the most intriguing in the history of municipal elections in the Kingdom due to the participation of women candidates for the first time. Women's participation has created a surge of enthusiasm but it also received discouragement from some quarters at the same time," said the source. The source said the directorate was notified of a group of religious scholars and academics who distributed fliers asking voters to refrain from voting for women candidates. The flier stated that people should vote for eligible candidates and voting for incompetent people is unlawful in Islam. It listed the names of six candidates, who were all men, asking people to vote for any one of them as they were the only ones eligible among the candidates running in the elections, said the source. The source also said the directorate has formed a committee to look into the incident. "Defamation of any candidates is against the rules of conduct in the elections. The directorate will investigate the incident further to understand the motives of people behind the fliers. The directorate will then submit the findings to the minister of municipal and rural affairs," said the source. The source also said the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs gave a fair opportunity for all candidates to nominate themselves without any racial or gender discrimination. "The incident must be looked into closely. The case may seem a form of sexual discrimination but there might be a hidden agenda behind. The voters should know that they have the right of choice when it comes to voting and no one is authorized to force them into voting for a specific candidate," said the source.
