Saudi Arabia should replace the Shoura Council with an elected parliament, Shia cleric Hassan al-Saffar said Friday.
“The people of Saudi Arabia look forward to elect their representatives to a national assembly that reflects the will of the nation,” al-Saffar said during a lecture he gave in Qatif according to his official website. “An elected parliament would help solve the country’s problems in addition to its main job of legislating laws and regulations, approving the budget and overseeing the executive power.”
Saudi Arabia is absolute monarchy. The Shoura Council is an advisory body whose members are appointed by the King. The country held its second election to choose half the members of municipal councils in 2011. Only men were allowed to vote and run in the election, but King Abdullah decided last year to grant women the right to run and vote for the municipal councils in four years. He also announced that women would be appointed to Shoura in the next cycle that begins next year.
Al-Saffar, one of the most prominent Shia leaders in the country, said a fully elected parliament might take away some power from the government but in return it will give legitimacy to the government. “Controlling the powers of the executive and legislature by one party leads to tyranny and oppression,” he said. The fear of extremists reaching power through election is not justified, he added, because the nature of parliamentarian work is that it is self-corrective.
In his call for election, al-Saffar cited a petition that was presented to King Abdullah when he was Crown Prince in 2003. The petition, titled “Vision for the Present and Future of the Nation,” called for major reforms including the separation of powers and allowing popular participation in decision making.