Saudi Arabian General Elections Series

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Starting soon!

Not the most plausible idea ever, but mostly based around Saudi Arabia adopting some parts of the Green Party of SA's platform

http://www.geocities.com/ksagreens/platform.htm

[minionofmidas]

A moderate Islamist (but anti-Israel and sort of anti-House of Saud) party wins big.
Opposition parties would be a traditional House of Saud asshole party, a kind of moderate liberal party (success depends on amount of moderation) and of course, provided it is not banned, an extremely Islamist party.

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It's a story to be written, not a question.

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A moderate Islamist (but anti-Israel and sort of anti-House of Saud) party wins big.
Opposition parties would be a traditional House of Saud asshole party, a kind of moderate liberal party (success depends on amount of moderation) and of course, provided it is not banned, an extremely Islamist party.

I was thinking along the same lines as you proposed, knowing regional mentalities, a moderate Islamist party and a conservative party win big in Nejd. Riyadh is moderate Islamist. Jeddah, Asir, possibly the Eastern Province vote for a reformist liberal movement. Madinah and Makkah I have no idea about, probably a close race between Islamist and moderates.

Series starting ASAP

[minionofmidas]

It's a story to be written, not a question.

I know that, but I answered the question anyways.

Jeddah, Asir, possibly the Eastern Province vote for a reformist liberal movement.

Asir I'd have down as voting for Islamists. Most of the 9/11 people came thence, and the area is poor and much less urbanized (but with MUCH higher rural population density) then the remainder of Saudi Arabia.
An economically left wing, Islamist, opposition party could do well there. Possibly even one that doesn't really exist outside Asir.

Of course, the Eastern Province's liberal votes would have a lot to do with the fact that the Islamist parties are both Sunni Islamist...

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I guess I'll start. I'm biased towards liberal reformists in a way, but I'll try to keep this as neutral as possible. If you find something you don't agree with, bring it up in a civil, respectful manner (not by blindly sticking to your point) and I'll see if I can change it without having to re-work the storyline.

Constitutional reforms, promised since the reign of King Faysal, and forgotten during the uneventful reign of King Khaled, were once again brought to the front-scene by King Fahd in 1992. Upon Fahd's accession to the Saudi throne, he promised a series of reforms that would lead to an elected lower house and an appointed higher house, as well as further expansion of civil rights, such as liberty of expression. Hailed on one side by reformist liberals, and bashed on the other by conservative Wahabbis and Islamists, Fahd finally sided with the liberal reformist stance and passed a series of Royal Decrees in 1992 that led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. The system was to be as follows

A lower house, House of Commons with 190 members elected by proportional representation with a 3% threshold. 4-year terms.
A higher house, Consultative Council whose 70 members are appointed by the King
13 provincial governors elected by two-round system to 4-year terms. 
Muncipal councils elected to 4-year terms

Further liberty of expression, petition. However, limited religious freedom.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is finally accepted in 1993.

King Fahd calls for the election of the lower house in March 1994.

International Reactions

United States President Bill Clinton hails King Fahd as a "great example of an Arab modernizer" and salutes the Saudi experiment in democracy.
Arab monarchies, such as Jordan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates are more reserved.
The European Union follows the United States in saluting the Saudi democratic reforms.

Internal Reactions

Liberal reformists within KSA are pleased by the constitution but wish for even further civil rights.
The conservative Islamists and Wahabbis are staunchly opposed to any kind of reforms, but are forced to support the King's actions.

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Next: Saudi Arabian general elections, 1994

[minionofmidas]

Fahd? Unlikely. Have him and his next two or three brothers killed by lightning or something.

Also, you'd probably find a sizeable measure of support for such reforms from Islamists... though not perhaps those most loyal to the house of Ibn Saud.

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Fahd? Unlikely. Have him and his next two or three brothers killed by lightning or something.

Also, you'd probably find a sizeable measure of support for such reforms from Islamists... though not perhaps those most loyal to the house of Ibn Saud.

LOL. As I said in my original post, this is not going to be the most plausible timeline ever made. Let's make it for this timeline that Fahd is an enlightened ruler ().\

You'll see about the reactions from the House of Saud-opposition.

Please note- election results are generated by a PR simulator using a 3% overall threshold.

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1994 Election

As Saudi Arabia prepares for its first ever democratic election, four groups announce their candidacy. First, moderate Islamists form the Moderate Party that is sometimes critical of the monarchy. Liberals united under the Liberal-Reformist Movement. Islamists loyal to the House of Saud form the Royal Saudi Party, while other stand as Independents, among these independents are the most Islamic candidates.

The campaign is mostly uneventful for the most part, all parties promising some sort of reforms. The Moderates and Liberals call for greater share of the oil wealth, while the Royalists are opposed to such measures.

Participation is very low, under 50%, due to very low voter turnout in the rural regions, Asir has only 36% turnout, however, Riyadh and Jeddah both top at nearly 60% of voters. Around 7.5 million people vote in the election.

The results are the following:

Moderate Party :: 45.34% :: 87 seats
Liberal-Reformist Movement :: 20.21% :: 38 seats
Royal Saudi Party :: 17.43% :: 33 seats
Independents/Other Parties :: 17.02% :: 32 seats

The Eastern Province votes at around 35% for the Liberal-Reform, while Riyadh is a close race between the Moderates, Liberals, and Royalists. Jeddah votes Liberal-Reform.

21 independents announce that they will vote with the Moderates, as do most Royalist MPs. 11 independents will vote with the Liberals.

[minionofmidas]

Bumpity.

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Bumpity.

Contrary to public belief, this is not dead and will be updated very, very soon.