The Saudi Shura Council Is Not A Parliament: The Inherent Contradictions Within Saudi Society
02 March 2013
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
Of course I would like half of Saudi Arabia's Shura
Council to be elected; but I stand by my conviction
that the elected members would be no more competent
than those who were appointed. As we know, in the
world of politics it is not always the case that the
most competent is the most likely to win a vote,
otherwise elections would simply be another form of
academic exam.
At this point I would like to stress the difference
between the Shura Council and a parliament. The Shura
Council is a consultative and advisory body, while a
parliament represents the people, makes essential
decisions, and carries out checks and balances.
When we talk about democratic practices in societies
the world over, we have to recognize the structural
problems of the developing world, particularly in the
Middle East. These structural problems are related to
the political systems and community structures in
place, as well as the local culture.
On a previous visit to the British parliament in
London, I was surprised to see a picture hanging of an
Iraqi parliamentary delegation that visited
Westminster in the 1950s. Yet the Iraqi parliament was
in fact established before many countries in modern
history established their own, having been founded
ninety years ago. Iraq's current situation
demonstrates that its original parliament, founded by
the British and staffed by Iraqis nearly a century
ago, was more effective that the model created by the
Americans after their invasion.
The history of Sudan, Egypt, and Syria is similar to
that of Iraq. During the colonial era, the European
powers administering these countries established
parliamentary institutions. However, these
institutions collapsed soon after the colonial era
ended. These countries ended up with repressive
regimes that overthrew the monarchies, which had been
characterized by their inclusive political systems and
moderate administrations.
We have all seen the problematic political transitions
of the past two years. Of course it is still too early
to judge the Egyptian, Tunisian, and Libyan
experiences; we are in the first quarter of a long
match and we cannot speculate on the outcome.
A country such as Saudi Arabia has limited experience
in areas such as public consultation and trade union
activism for example, but increasing attempts have
been made over the past 80 years. This year, King
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz took a difficult step when he
invited women into the Shura Council for the first
time. The council's percentage of women is now 20
percent, which is higher than the percentage of women
in the US Congress (18 percent). If there had been
public elections, perhaps not a single Saudi woman
would have won. Remember that we are talking about one
of the most conservative countries in the world. Some
strongly opposed the king's recent move; they drafted
a nine-point petition protesting his decision to
incorporate women into the council. This shows the
nature of the enormous challengers to come, and the
inherent contradictions within Saudi society.
However, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, throughout
history and ever since its establishment, has always
tried to develop society, albeit with extreme caution
and in a slow manner. The leaders recognize that it is
a pastoral state where the majority of citizens depend
on the government.
I think that a Shura Council that incorporates a
mixture of assigned, competent members and elected
representatives would ease the pressure on the state.
The Saudi government now has increased
responsibilities in the country, for it is heavily
involved in all aspects of the kingdom's day to day
life. In turn, citizens' expectations and government
accountability have also increased.
We have to note that the biggest obstacle hindering
progress in Arab societies is inherent weaknesses in
political culture. The quality of candidates, the
voter turnouts, the nature of discussions, and the
accountability of parliamentarians are all
frustratingly weak. For example, in the last municipal
elections in Riyadh, only 100,000 people voted out of
half a million eligible citizens.
Al
Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya
television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of
Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in
the daily newspapers of Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is
a US post-graduate degree in mass communications. He
has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs.
He is currently based in Dubai.
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