Saudi women register to vote in municipal elections

Women in Saudi Arabia have begun registering to vote in municipal elections, the first time they are able to take part in the electoral process in the kingdom. Women will also be able to stand as candidates in the polls, slated for December. The ongoing voter registration and the planned vote usher in a new and "exciting time" for women, as they participate in local governance, Afnan Linjawi, a Saudi writer, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday. "I didn't expect this to happen so soon," Linjawi, who is also a first-time voter, said. She credited local female leaders for pushing the initiative, as well as the newly named King Salman for approving it. Al Jazeera