(WASHINGTON, DC) – The third municipal elections in Saudi Arabia will be held on December 12, 2015.

Saudi Arabia held its first municipal elections in 2005. Several changes have been made since the last elections, which were held in 2011, to encourage greater participation in the electoral process, including: 

• The number of elected municipal council members will increase from half the total number of members to two thirds.
• The age of the eligible voters has been changed from 21-years-old to 18-years-old.
• Women are allowed to participate as voters and candidates.

The executive committee supervising the elections has identified a total of 1,263 voting centers, including 424 centers exclusively for women voters, distributed in 284 municipalities.

Voter registration started on August 16 in Makkah and Madinah and begins elsewhere on August 22 to continue for 21 days. Candidate registration begins on August 30 and continues for 17 days. The final list of candidates will be announced on November 29 and electoral campaigns will continue for 12 days. Each voter/candidate may file a contestation before the appeal and contestation committee after the voting results are announced.