Saudi Arabia's TV to broadcast Shoura council deliberations

Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that excerpts from "the Shoura council" discussions will be for the first time broadcast in a weekly TV program within the framework of the political openness in the kingdom.

The Saudi official news agency quoted the chairman of the Shoura council Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Hameed as saying that the "program will be broadcast in the evening for half an hour on weekly bases, during which topics will deal with work of the council, its system and mechanism and excerpts from the council's weekly sessions and the main deliberations."

The weekly program will be broadcast for the first time on Saturday evening.

For his part, member of the council Ihsan Abu Haleiqa said "it was decided to have, inside the council, a greater transparency with the mass media." He added that the council constitutes by the ultimate end "part of this country, and doubtless, showing discussions is good for the council and the citizens in Saudi Arabia."

The council was formed in 1993 with 60 members appointed by the king. For the time being this body has no legislative power, however, its role has increased in recent years through voting on important draft bills in several economic, social and educational issues.

The Saudi laws states that decisions of the council are not binding on the executive authority, but since it works in coordination with the government its decisions are often supported and implemented.