Saudi candidates learn politics

"They are afraid of Saudi society. [They believe] if they share power with Saudi society their future is on the line. But it's the opposite," he says. "In order for them to guarantee their preservation, they have to make concessions."

Awaji did not register to vote for what he called mock elections. "We should be choosing our leaders from top to bottom," he says. "Not voting for a council that has no powers and whose main job in most people's minds is collecting garbage."

Awaji says Saudis have cast their vote by not registering to vote. "They're expressing their rejection [of the elections] by refusing to register."

But architect Bakr believes the government is serious about reform. "They have no choice. It might be slow, but after Sept. 11, there is no other way," he says.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on Washington and New York, the kingdom came under pressure from the US to democratize as a way of combating extremism. Calls for reform increased from within Saudi Arabia after a violent campaign was launched in 2003 by Al-Qaeda-linked militants. This wave of violence included a bombing at a housing complex in Riyadh, killing at least 40, and the December attack on the American consulate in Jeddah.

Many liberal critics say that violence is a direct result of the absence of reform. Ultraconservatives counter that excessive modernity in Saudi Arabia has led to the violence. In a recent interview at his home, Prince Mansour bin Miteb, head of the election committee, said that not everyone in Saudi Arabia is in a hurry for change.

"When we talk about reform, it requires not just government will," says Prince Mansour, who teaches local government at King Saud University. "There's a spectrum where on the far right people want minor, slow, incremental changes and on the far left they want a big jump. The challenge is how to deal with these differences."

The Progressives have jumped at the chance of political participation, however small. With no political experience, Bakr and Oweiss have turned for advice to a Bahraini public relations firm. The group has also hosted a meeting with several hundred intellectuals and businessmen and even lobbied a women's group to get the message across to their menfolk that participating in the elections is a must.

In the backroom in Bakr's office, they discuss how to finance campaigns, how to reach as many voters as possible, and ways to combat the tribal influence and the lure of big businessmen. Tribal ties in Saudi Arabia remain strong despite fast-paced modernization in the kingdom.

Many Saudi suffragettes said they would vote for the Progressives if the could.

"I'm going to push all my cousins to vote for them," says Dallal al-Dughaither, a student. "I like the idea of voting for an idea, not just for a person," she says.

But for some Saudis, the debate around the meaning and significance of the elections was insignificant. At a registration center in Riyadh, Bandar al-Najjar says he would take part in the election to only get better municipal services in his neighborhood.

"Where I live, we used to have water shortages and potholes, and the streets were not all paved. Then a government official moved into the neighborhood and all those problems disappeared. We need to vote people into office who can be held accountable. That way I won't need a VIP on my street to get good services," he says.

Page: 1 | 2