AL-QATEEF, Saudi Arabia: As Shiias of Saudi Arabia, who make up majority in the oil-rich eastern parts of the kingdom, prepare to vote in the second round of landmark local elections, their leaders termed polls as a chance to assert the presence of the Shia as equal citizens.

Sheikh Ali An-Nasr said: “The role of these councils is limited, but (elections) are a chance to assert the presence of the Shia as equal citizens.”

“There is no particular Shia interest in the municipal councils ... There is national interest, and Shias are part of this country,” the Dammam-based scholar said.

The second round of the historic ballot, this time to elect half the members of municipal councils in the Eastern Province and south western regions of the kingdom, will take place on 3 March.

The first round in the capital Riyadh on 10 February saw 73.6% of only 140,000 registered voters - about 30% of total eligible voters - taking part.

A third and final round will take place in the western regions of Makkah and Madina, as well as the northern regions, on 21 April.

The ballot is open to men aged over 21 except military personnel.

The high turnout in some areas has been attributed to calls by Shia clerics for their followers to make their voices heard via the polls.

“I have called (on followers) to register ... This is a new step towards democracy,” Nasr said.

Academic Adnan Ash-Shakhs commented: “No doubt, the encouragement by scholars to participate played a role in raising the level of Shia registration.”

“This is an opportunity for the Shia to express their belonging to this country,”
the Shia candidate in Tarut Island, Jafar Ash-Shaib, said.

Citing last month's Iraqi elections as an example of the importance of participation, another prominent Shia figure in the kingdom Sheikh Hasan As-Safar urged registered voters to cast their “valuable” votes.

“We are a sect with no voice. I aim to get our voice heard,” Muhammad An-Namar, who is campaigning for a number of Shia candidates in Dammam, said, summing up his mission.