The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs is seeking the help of renowned international firms and the United Nations to evaluate the first-ever local elections of municipal councils held in 2005, according to Prince Mansour Bin Miteb Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Municipal Affairs. Whether women would be able to vote in the upcoming municipal elections, he said, would be in the hands of the election committee. Initially the election rules left women's participation ambiguous. The use of the masculine form in Arabic for all citizens reinforced reports saying women would be denied the vote. But the 2005 elections confirmed it. Women could run and vote in 2009, Municipal Affairs Minister Prince Miteb Bin Abdul Aziz was reportedly quoted as saying during the election in 2005. He said they were excluded not by the system, but by “time constraints.” But the total voting experience has proved some progress. More than 60 percent of the decisions taken by the Municipal Councils across the nation has been carried out, giving a positive key indicator of the performance of the elected councils, he said. Assistant minister hopes that future results will be much better with upcoming elections. Conflicts between the Municipal Councils and city mayors, or even among the council members themselves are normal in any work environment, especially for a new election experience in the Kingdom, he said. – Okaz __
