Azerbaijan , Baku, Sept. 27 / Trend A. Isgandarov/
Saudis go to the polls Thursday to elect municipal councils, the only elections in the conservative kingdom, dpa reported.
Around 5,000 candidates are running for 1,056 seats at 285 councils across the kingdom, the spokesman for the electoral commission, Jadeeh bin Nahar, said on Wednesday.
On Sunday, Saudi King Abdullah decided to allow women to run for municipal elections and be appointed as members of parliament.
However, women still do not have the right to vote or run as candidates in Thursday's polls, the second in the kingdom's history. The first were held in 2005.