WOMEN IN 2009 MUNI ELECTIONS? MIXED PREDICTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000248

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DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2018
TAGS: KMPI PGOV PHUM SOCI SA
SUBJECT: WOMEN IN 2009 MUNI ELECTIONS? MIXED PREDICTIONS

FROM POLS, MEPI TRAINEES

Classified By: Acting Consul General CB Toney for
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) BEGIN SUMMARY: A delegation from the Department's
Middle East Partnership Initiative met May 13 with local
politicians and prominent members of civil society to discuss
trends in political reform. Members of Jeddah's Municipal
Council described the body's growing role as a provider of
government oversight and a check on the mayor's power.
Female journalists and business leaders described ways to
increase the political participation of women, giving mixed
predictions as to whether women will be allowed to run in the
2009 municipal elections. END SUMMARY.

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GROWTH, LIMITS OF MUNICIPAL COUNCIL AUTHORITY
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2. (C) NEA/PI Director Ken Gross and NEA/PI Political Officer
Dr. Charles Kiamie traveled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia May 13 to
meet with area reformists. The MEPI delegation was eager to
gather local thoughts on the prospects of women's
participation in the 2009 local elections. (Note: When
municipal elections were first held in 2005, women were
denied access to polls and prevented from declaring candidacy
due to what were described as technical reasons. At the same
time, however, senior SAG officials speculated that women
would be allowed to participate in 2009. End note.)


3. (C) The delegation met the president, vice-president, and
two members of the Jeddah Municipal Council, who described
the increasing role of the body, which is composed of seven
elected members and seven appointed members. Council
President Tarek Fadaak, an appointed member, said that the
Council has been establishing its authority as a check on the
power of mayor Adel Faqeeh through such means as budget
audits and ethics reviews. He also noted that some citizens
are now approaching the Council to resolve legal disputes.
Mohammed Abudawood, another appointed member, described the
Council's increasing decision-making role, saying it was
responsible for initiating a SR1.5 million project to curb
dengue fever.


4. (C) Elected member Hasan Zahrani said that despite such
accomplishments, the public tends to be critical of the
Municipal Council. He suggested that one reason is that
people do not understand the limits of the Council's
authority. He added that the Council members themselves are
often unclear on technical issues pertaining to powers such
as controlling zoning and issuing building permits. He said
that another obstacle was that although the SAG established
municipal councils to increase public participation, it does
not give the body enough support to properly function. He
cited as example the SR 50K salary for council members,
saying that this is too low to permit a member to devote his
full time to council affairs. Fadaak added that it is easier
and safer for people to criticize a quasi-governmental body
such as the Municipal Council than official government
entities such as the mayor, the governor, or the ministries.


5. (C) Fadaak said that the seven members elected in 2005 won
due to their spirit of volunteerism. Elected member Hussein
Al-Bar, a physician, architect, and cousin to the previous
mayor, said that this sentiment is evident in the increasing
number of retirees who dedicate time to Council efforts,
including four committees of 70 volunteers each who are
collectively known as Friends of the Municipality.


6. (C) Asked if women would be allowed to run in 2009
municipal elections, Al-Bar said he thought this unlikely,
explaining that although there is support from elites, there
is also a large religious base that opposes the idea. Fadaak
agreed and characterized this conflict as one between liberal
political power and conservative public power, predicting
that the latter will prevail over the near term. On the
margins of the meeting, he expressed pessimism that women
would be granted the right to participate next year.

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MIXED PREDICTIONS FOR WOMEN CANDIDATES IN 2009
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7. (C) The delegation's remaining meetings focused on civil
society actors and the role of activists in promoting
indigenous reform. Three participants in the National
Democratic Institute (NDI) Candidacy Training Program in
Dubai discussed the prospects of women running in Jeddah's
2009 municipal elections and ways to increase women's

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participation in Saudi government. Samar Fatany (strictly
protect),a radio journalist, said she expected women to be
allowed to run in 2009, and believed that NDI participants
will be among the candidates. Maha Akeel (strictly protect),
Managing Editor of the Journal of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference and a former reporter for Arab News, was
less certain that women will be allowed to participate,
noting that similar hopes leading up to the 2005 municipal
elections were ultimately in vain. Manal Al-Sharif (strictly
protect),an editor for the newspaper Al-Madina, was
similarly skeptical of the chances of a woman attaining one
of the council's seven elected seats, although she was
slightly more optimistic that a woman might be chosen by the
Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) for one of
the seven appointed seats.


8. (C) On ways to promote women's participation in Saudi
politics, Ms. Fatany cited the importance of campaign and
media skills. She also said it was vital that women become
more aware of the various levels of Saudi government so that
they can capitalize on opportunities to secure appointments
at the municipal, provincial, regional, and principality
levels. Ms. Al-Sharif, a co-founder of the Saudi Women's
Action Network (SWAN),said that the ability to self-organize
was the single most vital skill for increasing the political
clout of women. Regarding outside financial support for
women's campaigns, Ms. Fatany said that most women would be
hesitant to receive it, even if it was permitted by the
government, out of fear that it would paint them as
outsiders' pawns.


9. (C) The three women agreed that the biggest impediment to
increasing the political role of women was the power
maintained by conservative Islamists. They were uncertain
about the extent of this influence, but suspected that it
exerted itself both through public thought currents and
private pressure placed on government officials. All three
believed that Mecca Governor Prince Khalid would like to
bring about more political liberalization in the Hijaz, but
suspected that he is being restrained by conservative forces.
Ms. Akeel said that the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) needs to exert a moderating influence on
Islamic extremists. Ms. Fatany said that the SAG should
develop programs to show all Saudis how to achieve a better
life through developing more marketable skills. The three
women concluded the discussion by agreeing that they were all
eager to work within the system for progress.

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GREATER ROLE FOR WOMEN IN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
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10. (C) MEPI delegates met with members of the Khadijah Bint
Khoweiled Center, the women's section of the Jeddah Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). Executive Director of
Public Relations Sarah Baghdadi (strictly protect) explained
how the center is designed to serve women entrepreneurs,
working women, and society in general. She said that members
participate in mixed-gender JCCI sessions, and that two of
JCCI's elected board members and three of its executives are
women, as are 35 of its roughly 200 employees. The JCCI has
increasingly been assuming the role of a gender-integrated
lobbying organization.


11. (C) In 2007, the JCCI hosted the Saudi Women's Forum with
the goal of highlighting the contributions of women and
presenting a positive entrepreneurial model for Arab and
Muslim women. This conference generated several
recommendations, such as the need for more women involvement
at all levels of government, including the Shoura Council and
the Council of Ministers. An additional recommendation was
that the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority should
take on the role of training youth for employment. These
recommendations were submitted to the King, generating
several promising decrees. Ms. Baghdadi noted that the
primary obstacle to more rights for women is the
interpretation and implementation of the Kingdom's laws, and
that often regional ministry offices make arbitrary decisions
about enforcement.


12. (C) Asked if either of the elected women leaders within
JCCI would consider running in the 2009 elections if women
are allowed, Ms. Baghdadi said that they would probably
prefer to focus on JCCI for now. Noura Alturki (strictly
protect),a researcher working at JCCI, said that women are
not yet organized enough to mount a serious candidate, and
that extensive campaigning expertise will be needed.


JEDDAH 00000248 003 OF 003


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A ROLE FOR GRASS ROOTS ORGANIZATIONS
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13. (C) MEPI delegates also met with Fatin Bundagji, a writer
and reformer who has participated in MEPI training programs
and has, by her own testimony, benefited from her experiences
in the U.S. She emphasized the need to focus on
capacity-building and volunteerism, and said that grass-roots
organizations were key to community development and,
ultimately, greater political participation by all Saudis.
Bundagji pointed to a new women's basketball league as an
example of a self-organizing community that creates ripple
effects in society.


14. (C) Ms. Bundagji's primary complaint about the Jeddah
Municipal Council was that there was no accountability to the
city's residents. She also said that council members do not
know their role vis--vis the mayor and the governorate. Ms.
Bundagji said she does not believe women will be allowed to
run in the 2009 municipal elections, but that they may be
allowed to vote. She said she would accept an appointment to
one of the non-elected council seats if nominated, although
she believes that if MOMRA were to start appointing women to
these seats, appointees would likely be culturally
conservative women who would not promote greater female
participation in Saudi politics. Her protg, Rasha Hefzi
(stricly protect),spoke bluntly about the need to court
Saudi youth, particularly in greater Jeddah, where she and
her reformist colleagues perhaps represent 60% of Jeddawi
society. Competing government statistics and a lack of
independent social research centers make determining Hefzi's
supposition yet another challenge for activists young and
old.


15. (C) NEA/PI Comment: MEPI's Jeddah meetings were an
opportunity to gain first-hand information reguarding reform
in the Kingdom generally and the prospects for women's
participation in the 2009 local elections specifically.
While both government and civil society types alike expressed
disatisfaction with the pace of political reform and the
likelihood that "technical reasons" would again be used to
deny women voting and candidacy rights. Nonetheless, these
advocates remain undetered and will continue to push for
greater openness, transparency, and expression in Jeddah and
beyond. The USG should make a more concerted attempt to
cultivate new reformist contacts in Saudi Arabia, despite the
restrictive nature of posts like Jeddah, to avoid a
"recycling" of elites while encouraging a younger generation
hungry for change. Exchange programs for local council
members and training exercises for young reformers will give
these and other promoters of change ammunition in their fight
for more representative institutions and freer political
space. End comment.
TONEY