JEDDAH: Many women candidates have withdrawn from the upcoming Dec. 12 municipal council elections because of inadequate campaign funding, failure to understand the importance of councils, and “difficult” registration processes, according to a top woman activist.
Naila Attar, coordinator of the Baladi Campaign in Jeddah, said that some candidates withdrew because they thought others were more likely to win because they had better funded campaigns, according to a report in a local publication recently.
She said that in Jeddah one candidate spent SR300,000 on her campaign. Attar said that candidates also seemed to lack an awareness of the importance of councils. In Makkah, for example, the measure of participation seemed low from voters too, with only 2,402 women registering, she said.
“I personally believe the main reason behind withdrawals, be it men or women candidates, is the difficult procedures. Many have found the requirements of campaigns far more complicated than they imagined, financially and administratively.”
She said some procedures required as long as one full week to complete, and due to time constraints, many candidates viewed withdrawal as the best option, she said.
Amal Al-Abadi, director of the Al-Rawda Center in Jeddah, said many candidates have withdrawn because of the high cost of halls for campaigning. Others had claimed that they could not continue because regulations were not clear.
Many female candidates promoted their election campaigns through social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Snapchat, according to a report in a local publication.
