The Kingdom is considering allowing women to vote in municipal elections this year but they would still be barred from running for office, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Sunday. Prince Mansour Bin Mit'eb, Deputy Minister for Municipal and Rural Affairs, made the comments after attending a conference of municipal councils in the Eastern Province, newspapers reported. The meeting's recommendations included one that women should be eligible to vote, Al-Watan Arabic daily said. Officials at the municipal and rural affairs ministry could not immediately be reached for comment. Only eligible males voted in municipal elections in 2005 which were the Kingdom's first ever nationwide polls since the state's inception in 1932. The election for half the seats on the councils was part of a series of reforms. The meeting in the Eastern Province, the first indication that the municipal vote will take place this year, recommended that the government continues to name half the members of the council, Al
