Two Saudi women to join municipal elections

Two Saudi women yesterday announced they intend to be nominated for the first municipal elections in February, 2004 in Saudi Arabia.

Faten Bindaqji, who presides over an office encouraging the role of the woman in the chamber of commerce in Jeddah said " I will nominate myself for the next municipal elections." She added " I have started to work on my electoral program at the help of other women." Another woman Nadia Bakhrajai announced last week her desire to be nominated for the municipal elections in Riyadh.

Both women are waiting for December 26 to register their nomination. This is the first time in which municipal elections are organized in order to choose half number of the 178 municipal councils members in the Kingdom.

On Monday, the secretary of the municipal and rural affairs said to a local paper " women will not take part in the municipal elections." Nevertheless the law on elections has never given mention to placing women in the electoral process. The law which was published by the ministry of municipalities said that citizens who are not yet 21 years old and the military people have no right to vote in the elections.

On the other hand, a statement issued on the official web for the Saudi wing of al-Qaida organization on the Internet said on Tuesday that the group claimed responsibility for killing the British engineer Edward Smith in Riyadh last week. And this is in the course of its campaign to " purify the Arab Peninsula from the non- believers."