Voter registration yet to pick up

Only 7,034 Saudis have so far registered in Riyadh and the Eastern Province for the Dec. 12 municipal council elections, a local publication reported Wednesday.

The elections, held for the third time in the Kingdom, are expected to attract a record number of voters because it includes women and young people over the age of 18 for the first time.
In the Eastern Province, 2,121 men and women voters registered, 669 in Makkah and 720 in Madinah. This was in the first three days of voter registration, which began Saturday.

In Riyadh region, 4,913 men and women registered, with varying numbers reported at electoral sectors in various constituencies, the publication reported.
Mohammed Al-Sufian, spokesman of the Eastern Province municipality, said the election centers registered 1,561 men and 560 women. “The seven electoral centers in Hafr Al-Batin registered the highest with 329 men and 153 women,” he said. He said in Dammam 355 people registered, Qatif 60, Jubail 147, Abqaiq 105, Noairiyah 84, Alqariyah Alolia 185, Jouf bin Hajer 14, Ras Tanoura 53, Alluhaba 62, Alkhafaji 36, Ein Dar 86 and Malija 112. 

“In the Alsarar region, the election centers registered a significant number of men, at 175 but only one woman registered. There was a similar situation in Alqulaib where only one woman registered as a voter compared to 11 men. In Orairyira, 93 people registered,” said Al-Sufian.
He said there was likely to be more people registering because the process continues for 21 days. All preparations have been completed at the election stations for the polls, he said.

He said technical teams have been working since Saturday to gather data at about 165 election centers. In addition, the election commission overseeing the polls has been checking all technical and administrative systems.
The team has been compiling a database of voters at the center, which has been entered into a central system at the ministry. The team consists of 26 trainees who underwent extensive training on how to operate the electronic systems for the elections.