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RIYADH, 30 October 2004 — Access to Saudi municipal
elections is now a click away with the launch of a website
dedicated to the poll scheduled to take place early next
year.
“The bilingual website (Arabic/English),
www.saudielection.com, is the only one of its kind providing
an update on the municipal and the chambers of commerce
elections throughout the Kingdom,” Turk Faisal Al-Rasheed,
president of Golden Grass and webmaster of the new website,
told Arab News. He said it contains a wealth of information on
election news from both Arabic and English sources.
To access the information, one needs to log on to the
website. The home page that opens provides details of the
contents, with the options available in both the
languages.
Al-Rasheed said all election news, including official
announcements, polling dates, arrangements for polling booths
and related items have been published on both the Arabic and
English versions. The webmaster has called on the candidates
to use the website to announce their candidacy as well as
their policies and programs. Personality profiles of the
candidates will also be available for Internet browsers.
He said the website has been linked both to Arab News
(www.arabnews.com) and www.Yahind.com, enabling visitors to
these websites to link up with www.saudielection.com and vice
versa.
Saudi Arabia’s first-ever municipal elections will be
conducted in three phases from February next year and ending
in March. The elections to pick half the members of 178
municipal councils in the Kingdom’s 13 regions will be held
under this phased program, while the rest will be nominated.
Women’s representatives contend that there should be some
provision for them as well in the list of nominees.
Elections in the Riyadh region will be conducted in the
first phase. The second phase will cover the Eastern Province
as well as the Asir, Baha, Jizan and Najran regions. The third
phase of elections in the regions of Makkah, Madinah, Qasim,
Al-Jouf, the Northern Border Region, Tabuk and Hail will be
held after Haj.
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