Female participation in election ‘to boost voter registration’

Fuente: 
Arab News
Fecha de publicación: 
25 Ago 2015

JEDDAH: The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has admitted that voter registration is still slow but clarified that this has nothing to do with the start of the new academic year.
Hamad Al-Omar, who heads the ministry’s media and public affairs department, was quoted as saying by a local publication on Monday that election stations open promptly at 4 p.m.
Al-Omar said registration would likely pick up over the coming days and it was unlikely that the opening of schools had anything to do with the turnout. The election process had been studied thoroughly to take into account several factors, including citizens returning from their vacations, he said.
“It is difficult to judge from the first day, especially in light of the participation of women and the greater number of candidates. We are optimistic that the participation of women will boost voter turnout,” he said.
About candidates using advertising and media to improve their chances, he said there were regulations in place to deal with this issue. However, they are not allowed to put up posters and signs along roads and other public places until the month of Safar, starting in mid-November.
Some observers have said that there has been a poor turnout for registration because many people already have their names on the voter’s roll from the last election. Voters are only required to re-register if they have changed their residence.
The Kingdom has set up 1,263 centers in 284 municipalities that can handle 4 million voters for the Dec. 12 municipal council elections. These centers opened on Aug. 22 to allow for the registration of voters until Sept. 21, from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. except Fridays. Candidates will be able to register from Aug. 30 for 17 days.

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