In Saudis' first nationwide poll, candidates test limits

Salman al-Sulaiman, a candidate in Saudi Arabia's first nationwide municipal elections, tries to explain to a young man why he thinks women should finally be allowed to drive.

But the young man furrows his brow in concentration and says what many here think of Mr. Sulaiman's idea. "I will not vote for you unless you take that issue off your platform," he says.

Sulaiman has emerged as one of the most controversial of the 646 candidates vying for seven seats on Riyadh's municipal council. The first phase of voting starts Thursday. Nationwide, voters will select half the seats in 178 municipal councils for the first time since Saudi Arabia's inception more than 60 years ago. The second and third rounds will be in March and April.

The elections, seen by many as a very measured response to calls from inside and outside Saudi Arabia for reforms, have taken on a life of their own. Despite a ban by the election council on discussing issues unrelated to the municipal councils, a number of candidates are discussing corruption, women's rights, and unemployment, a growing problem in Saudi Arabia.

Over the past week four newspapers rejected Sulaiman's politi- cal advertisements because they mentioned women driving - a heated issue in this deeply segregated society.

Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive, work alongside men, or travel without a male guardian. The conservative kingdom also does not allow cinemas and theaters - a ban that Sulaiman wants lifted.

Many conservatives say that allowing women to drive will lead to men and women mixing, which they believe is unIslamic. After Sulaiman's ad finally appeared in two newspapers Wednesday, he received a flood of phone calls and text messages asking him to repent and ask God for forgiveness.

"It's a very courageous program that could help move stagnant waters," says Khaled Mohammad, a high school teacher and supporter of Sulaiman. "What he's asking for is strange in Saudi Arabia, but normal in the rest of the world."

Political parties are banned in the kingdom and press freedoms are limited in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy ruled by the Al Saud family, after whom the country is named. Though public gatherings are also banned, an exception has been made for the elections.

On one of the capital's main roads a massive tent has been pitched as headquarters of candidate and real estate mogul Badr al-Saydan. Strobe lights are flashing and more than 500 people are seated on plastic chairs. Thursday night's draw is popular cleric Ayid al-Qurni. Men in white thobes and gold-embroidered black vests circulate with trays of steaming cups of tea, bitter Arabic coffee, and incense holders burning scented wood. A man walks up to the microphone and asks a question. "Is voting approved by Islam?"

"Yes," replies the cleric. "Participating in the elections is a national duty."

Beshr Bakheet's campaign slogan, "Every riyal in its proper place," has also attracted a lot of potential voters. At a recent rally at a hotel conference hall, Bakheet, a stock market consultant to local banks, gave a talk on Saudi Arabia's stock market, which has been doing exceptionally well over the past three years.

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