By Eman al-Guwaifli What will happen? The elections process to choose municipal elections will start on April 23 with voters registration, and it will end by casting ballots on September 23. Starting from this moment, the scenario of this upcoming summer seems very clear. On April 23, the voters registration will begin, and the numbers [...]
Category Archives: Politics
Saudi Municipal elections, weekend change, walk in the DQ
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 – 23:09
After several postponements, the Saudi government finally decided to move ahead with the long-delayed municipal elections. Surprisingly, they now seem in a rush to get it over with: voter registration opens on April 23rd, and the elections will be held on September 22nd. Women, however, will not be allowed to participate. “We are not ready [...]
The King’s Speech (that wasn’t)
Sunday, March 20, 2011 – 16:52
Fellow citizens, I speak to you today amidst extraordinary circumstances surrounding our country. With revolutions and unrest spreading in the region, and the winds of change sweeping across the Arab world, we face a situation in which we muse make critical decisions. Today, we have to ensure a choice between starting to reform ourselves now, [...]
Ready to be disappointed?
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 – 1:50
I had an interesting, albeit infuriating, conversation with a conservative friend of mine last week (yes, I do have conservative friends, can you believe that?). My friend said Saudis should not respond to the calls to protest posted on Facebook because if they do they would be ungrateful to their country. I was gobsmacked. “Huh?! [...]
Now we’re talking
Monday, February 28, 2011 – 2:53
I know I said don’t expect what happened in Tunisia and Egypt to happen in Saudi Arabia anytime soon. But I also added that things are happening. In addition to the buzz in social media, the past week has seen the release of several statements and open letters demanding reform. There was a statement titled [...]
Egypt uprising, Wahabi numbers, Khashoggi, women in municipal elections, and other stuff
Sunday, February 6, 2011 – 23:48
The uprising continues in Egypt, where protesters in Tahrir Square remain defiant. Sandmonkey, one of the demonstrators, has two good blogposts that you should read. Many people have been asking me if what happened in Egypt could happen in Saudi Arabia. The short answer is no. Saudi Arabia, and the other five GCC countries, are [...]
My op-ed in the Guardian
I wrote an op-ed for the Guardian today that was published as part of their coverage of the Middle East unrest. You can read it here. They misspelled my first name, though. They used an a in the middle instead of e, which is a common mistake. I asked them to correct it, but I [...]