RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) – Phone text messages beep candidates’ praise and their pictures are splashed in newspaper ads and on billboards across Saudi Arabia’s capital – a surprising scene in a country where the depiction of the human face is considered un-Islamic and the idea of even talking about elections used to be considered taboo.

True, the country’s first nationwide elections, beginning next Thursday, are only for local councils, with voters electing half of the councils’ members and women banned from running and even voting. But the ballot is seen as a concrete step in a reform process no one had expected.

The elections are part of the kingdom’s measured response to calls for reforms long sought by liberals. Saudis will be given a chance to participate in decision making in an absolute monarchy, which has an unelected Consultative Council that acts like a parliament. Political parties are banned here, and press freedoms are limited.

Already there are unfamiliar scenes on Riyadh’s streets.

For the first time there are forums – daily meetings at candidates’ headquarters – where people can discuss social issues away from the control of religious authorities. One woman even called a candidate praising his looks and offering to be a second wife.

Candidate fliers are thrown into open car windows, and brochures are folded into newspapers.

Carpeted tents have been erected along highways, attracting potential voters with programs featuring poets, lectures by experts in municipal services and sumptuous feasts. One nutritionist even warned against consuming too much meat and rice at campaign buffets, saying the feasts could cause serious weight gain.

“Who would have thought that one day there would be candidates’ pictures in the streets? Who would have thought that one day there would be slogans urging participation in decision making?” Sulaiman al-Hattlan, a U.S.-educated columnist, wrote for Al-Watan daily.

“This is a sign that given an opportunity to open up and adopt new concepts, society will take it.”

Al-Hattlan said he worries those who oppose reform in Saudi Arabia could use U.S. calls for change in the Arab world – including those in President Bush’s State of the Union address – as an excuse to discredit the effort as American-dictated.

“Others will say it’s no secret Americans have real interest in seeing reforms in the Arab world. Regardless of what Bush says, there is an urgent need for reform in this region,” he said.

During a visit to London on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Saudi Arabia should be allowed to experiment with democracy at its own pace.

“No one can seek to impose a particular model or a particular set of solutions to the question of how one answers the universal aspirations of people for liberty, the simple right for people to be able to say what they think,” she said. “But we do expect that there should be movement toward reform in all of the countries of the Middle East.”

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also praised Saudi Arabia. “You can now feel the winds of change blowing through the Arab world,” he said.

The municipal elections will be carried out in three phases, beginning with the Riyadh region, where about 1,800 candidates will contest 127 seats.

Until the candidates’ campaigns began Jan. 29, there was little interest in the polls. Only 149,000 out of 600,000 eligible voters in that area registered to vote.

“I didn’t take it seriously. I regret I didn’t sign up,” said Khaled Muhammad, 26, who was visiting a tent to learn more about the process so he could participate in future elections.

It’s not yet clear how much authority the councils will have, but their focus will be on improving infrastructure, roads, the environment and water services. Candidates have promised to fill streets with trees, build shelters for flash floods or wars, and stamp out corruption.

One issue that has remained largely absent from the candidates’ pledges is that of the rights of women. The government has banned them from the polls, but some officials have promised they will take part in the second round in 2009.

Candidate Badr al-Suaidan, a 41-year-old businessman who specializes in real estate, said he was driven by “nationalistic duty” to run.

“I would’ve regretted not running if an unqualified man had won,” al-Suaidan said.

Hezam al-Otaibi signed up as a candidate only so that he could cover the registration process after he was banned as a journalist from attending.

“What began impulsively is now a serious matter. I’m running in the elections,” al-Otaibi said.

AP-ES-02-04-05 1348EST

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