Municipal councils in Saudi Arabia : context and organization

Abstract EN

In 2004 the Saudi Council of Ministers called for the formation of semi-elected municipal councils in 178 cities and towns of Saudi Arabia.

This command instigated public participation in local decision making.

The election process finished in early 2005 and councils' formation is completed by the end of 2005 to augment their start.

Given the relatively fresh beginning of citizen engagement in local decisions in Saudi Arabia, this paper aims at analyzing the context and organization of municipal councils in Saudi Arabia.

The paper starts by reviewing theoretical background on public participation, highlighting its importance, methods and factors affecting it.

The purpose is to establish an analytical framework to examine the work in Saudi.

Two sets of interrelated factors are defined including contextual and local factors, which are then discussed in relation to municipal councils in Saudi Arabia.

The discussion outlines existing shortcomings with the contextual and local factors and proposes necessary improvements based on the understanding that public participation is a learning process that will demand continuous improvement and enhancement.