Enezi, the polling place supervisor, said several people asked him whom to vote for in districts where they did not know the candidates. "I was astonished," Enezi said, laughing. "I said you should choose who you want or don't choose anyone at all."
But many other voters appeared to have a firm grasp of whom they wanted to win and why. Many said the rules set out by Islam, which provides the basis of the kingdom's constitution, guided their decisions and should dictate the royal family's next steps in opening the government to more democratic participation.
A Saudi man casts ballot as others wait to vote at a school in Riyadh.
(Hasan Jamali -- AP)
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"I know all the people I voted for, and they are all practicing Muslims committed to serving the community," said Hamad Saleh, 32, who teaches Islamic studies at a middle school. "This process should always be guided by Islamic principles, and only in that way should it be developed further."
Saleh, the father of a 2-year-old girl, also had more mundane concerns that he wanted his councilman to address.
"There is no place for children in this city, and I expect to see more parks," he said.
Saudi reformers said they hoped the municipal elections would lead to voting for offices with more national political influence, particularly the Shura Council, a 120-seat consultative assembly appointed by the royal family. Although several voters said they expected to be able to cast ballots for the council in the future, they wanted to make sure the novice politicians elected Thursday did not seek to move the kingdom away from its Islamic foundations.
"When you say 'democracy' here, people think of Western democracy, where everything is permitted," said Abdul Malik Sulaiman, 45, a geologist, after he cast his vote at the school.
For instance, Sulaiman said, any calls from the municipal councils to legalize alcohol would undermine the kingdom's already slow strides toward elected government.
