Salem bin Tahia, the head of the High Commission for Municipal Council Elections, announced a preliminary voter turnout of 74% in the first group of municipal elections, which concluded earlier today. The polling centers, encompassing 58 municipalities, reported that the commission had received 96% of the data.
In a press conference held on Saturday evening after the polls closed, bin Tahia highlighted that the final tally will be announced within the next two days, as the commission awaits the remaining 4% of data from some centers that had yet to report by 3 PM.
The voter demographics showed significant participation, with 186,055 voters collecting their ballots, including 130,000 men and 56,055 women. A total of 159 lists, representing 1,786 candidates, competed in this electoral round, attracting substantial voter engagement.
Bin Tahia described the elections as a “festival of democracy” that spanned from the eastern municipality of Imsaad to Zaltan in the west and from Al Barkat in the southwest to Al Jouf in the southeast. He also noted that the elections were conducted peacefully without any reported security breaches, attributing this to the vigilance of 24,000 officers and non-commissioned officers deployed to ensure the security of the polling stations.
The elections also saw the involvement of 1,367 observers and 94 local and 14 international journalists, who were granted access to ensure transparency and fairness in the electoral process.
At the conference’s conclusion, bin Tahia commended the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Education, and various civil society institutions for their role in promoting the elections through extensive media campaigns, all aimed at ensuring the success of this democratic event.
