Islamist-backed candidates triumphed over tribal opponents and businessmen in Saudi Arabia's landmark men-only elections in the capital Riyadh, according to preliminary results released Friday.
Losing candidates cried foul, saying six of the seven victors had violated a ban on election alliances when their names were circulated via mobile phones and the Internet to voters in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom with messages suggesting they had Islamist backing.
"There were regulations which forbade any coalitions. Those regulations were violated," defeated candidate Zafer al-Yami told Reuters. "They won through this violation."
"I don't know them personally ... But they had a religious character to them," he said of the winners, adding that he planned to appeal the result.
Thursday's municipal elections in Riyadh and outlying areas were the first stage of an unprecedented nationwide vote in the kingdom, which is edging toward political reform under pressure from the United States and domestic activists.
Hundreds of candidates registered to stand for the seven seats up for grabs in the capital. The other seven seats will be appointed and the powers of the municipal councils are likely to be limited. Women were barred from voting or standing.
At least one candidate was estimated to have spent millions of riyals (hundreds of thousands of dollars) on election posters, newspapers advertisements and rallies as part of his unsuccessful campaign.
Election commission chief Prince Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdul-Aziz said the Riyadh city council winners were Abdullah al-Suweilam, Suleiman al-Rashoudi, Tareq al-Kassabi, Abdul-Aziz al-Omari, Omar Basudan, Ibrahim Quaid and Misfer al-Bawardi.
Turnout in the capital had been 65 percent of registered voters, though only a small fraction of the eligible male voters bothered to register in December, reflecting skepticism over the powers the half-elected councils will wield.
NARROW SPECTRUM
It was not immediately clear what path the victorious candidates might chart for the councils. The candidates themselves could not be immediately contacted.
"I hope they can serve the citizens, though I doubt they can because they represent only one part of the spectrum," said university professor Ahmed Owais, one of hundreds who petitioned de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah last year for reforms.
Owais said it was natural that Islamist candidates would do better than liberal reformers and other candidates because they had "the mechanisms which other people do not have" in the cradle of Islam, where political parties are banned.
"But we must defend this experiment and it should continue regardless who wins," he added.
Losing candidate Bandar al-Faqir said he received a mobile phone text message advising him to vote for a list of seven "virtuous" candidates.
"The list of names is exactly the same as the list of winners," Faqir told Reuters. "We don't have a religious trend because we are all Muslims, but there are those who exploited religion in the elections."