Journalists would not be allowed inside polling stations and can only interview candidates and voters outside for the Dec. 12 municipal council elections.
This was announced by the Madinah Municipality Deputy Mayor Yahya Saif. The lounges adjoining the registration and voting areas in the electoral centers would be off-limits to reporters and photographers, he was quoted as saying in a local publication on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, for the third day in a row there was slow registration of voters in Madinah. There was varying turnout at centers in the city. Fahd Al-Oufi, head of the city’s election team, said that 85 men and 11 women registered at electoral centers on the second day. “Citizens turned out in about 32 electoral centers in 10 constituencies in the city,” said Al-Oufi.
Some of the voters interviewed said they would elect candidates who would help improve their neighborhoods and build football fields and parks. Fahd Al-Senani, a citizen registered as a voter, claimed there were “impossible conditions” in place to nominate a person to stand in the elections.
The municipal elections will be held between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Dec. 12 with the results announced the following day. Voters can register until Sept. 14. Candidates can do so from Aug. 30 to Sept. 17.
Preliminary lists of candidates will be published on Sept. 30 while the last date for withdrawal is Nov. 19, when the final list of candidates will be announced.
