Call to end Saudi election ban on women

Riyadh: An existing "ban" on women to vote or run in elections is a blatant violation of international conventions signed by Saudi Arabia and should be lifted, according to the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR).

In 2005, Saudi Arabia held municipal elections for the first time since the 1960, but women were excluded. Currently, the four-year term of the municipal councils is expired as elections were due in 2009.

Dr. Muflih Al Qahtani, chairman of NSHR, said that denying women's rights by preventing them to vote or run in elections was a flagrant violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, of which Saudi Arabia signed on December 18, 1979.

Saudi Arabia then joined the convention in 2000 and changed its electoral law so that "all citizens" could vote. Before the 2005 elections, authorities claimed there was not enough time to organise segregated voting facilities for women, but hinted that women would be allowed to vote in the next elections.

"Currently, no steps have been taken to ensure women's participation in the next elections," Al Qahtani told Al Madinah Daily.

Al Qahtani said he hoped that postponement would give the authorities enough time to complete the legal procedures to enable women access.

"Saudi women have proved that they can score excellent performance results in various fields and this is evident by the many success stories of Saudi businesswomen," he said.