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Saudi Arabia gears up for upcoming municipal poll

Xinhua, August 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

Saudi Arabia allocated on Tuesday 343 constituencies for the third municipal poll that will allow women to stand for elections and vote for the first time, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The constituencies are distributed all over the Saudi districts for all citizens. The first phase of the preparations will take place from August 22 to September 14 that will include registration of candidates.

The country announced earlier that besides allowing women to take part, the voting age will be reduced to 18.

Twenty percent of the elections members will be females to deal with women candidates and voters. In 2005, elections for half the municipal councilors were held, with men voting for male candidates.

In February 2009 it was announced that municipal elections scheduled for 2009 would be postponed indefinitely "for evaluation".

A government spokesperson said that they were postponed to consider suffrage for women in the next elections.

The municipal elections were eventually scheduled for and took place in 2011, but universal suffrage was delayed until the scheduled 2015 vote.

Saudi Arabia has no elected parliament, but an appointed consultative council, in which its members could propose legislations with no power to draft or approve laws. Endit