Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The president of Saudi Arabia's consultative council said that its 150 members could express themselves freely provided they respected the Islamic religion.
"There are no red lines under this dome with the exception of that which contravenes sharia (Islamic law)," Saleh bin Humaid said at the opening of the fourth session of the Shura Council, established in 1993 and expanded progressively from 60 members.
Women are barred from membership and from the three-stage polls to elect half the members of 178 municipal councils across Saudi Arabia, in the conservative Muslim kingdom's first experiment with elections.
A third round of balloting will take place in the western regions of Mecca and Medina as well as the northern regions on April 21.
"You have the right to talk about anything you want and about anything you think to be in the interests of religion, and then the country," bin Humaid said.
A royal decree earlier this month increased membership from 120 to 150. The council has no legislative powers and its recommendations are submitted to King Fahd before being passed on to the government.
The municipal elections are part of a cautious process of reform in the oil-rich kingdom, which its leaders insist must be tailored to Saudi specifications rather than follow a Western model.
US President George W. Bush earlier this year urged Saudi Arabia to "demonstrate its leadership in the region by expanding the role of its people in determining their future."
But Washington has welcomed the municipal vote, expressing hope that women, who make up more than 50 percent of the Saudi population, would be included in future.
Earlier this month the trial of three Saudi reformists accused of calling for a constitutional monarchy was adjourned for 20 days following a request by the prosecutor for more time to produce evidence.
The request to reconvene on April 23 was made during a closed-door court session, according to Saleh al-Khathlan, who represented the Saudi National Human Rights Association (NHRA) at the hearing.
The trial of Ali al-Demaini, Abdullah al-Hamed and Matruk al-Faleh, who have been held for more than a year, has been adjourned twice following a similar request by the prosecutor.
Demaini, Hamed and Faleh were arrested on March 16, 2004 on charges of demanding a constitutional monarchy in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
The three, whose trial opened last August, are also accused of "using Western terminology" in demanding political reforms. They also allegedly questioned the king's role as head of the judiciary.